Starlight Destiny
by Maeve Morgan
Summary: When the world is plunged into darkness, what do you need to fight it? Ten years after the battle with Galaxia, agents of Chaos appear and if they hope to survive, the Senshi will need the help of a few old friends.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon, its characters and universe were created by Naoko Takeuchi. I'm merely a fan of the series, writing stories as an attempt to maintain sanity while studying. I expect no profit from this. Except for the sanity, of course.

Summary: When the world is plunged into darkness, what do you need to fight it? Ten years after the battle with Galaxia, agents of Chaos are back and if they hope to survive, the Senshi will need the help of a few old friends.

* * *

**Starlight Destiny**

_Prologue_

In the centre of the galaxy there was a special place. Known to few, it was named the Galaxy Cauldron and it was whence every life originated and ended. Ten years before, this was the place where Chaos was partially sealed. Yet, it was recovering. Where there is light, there is also darkness. And from the Galaxy Cauldron, Chaos would be reborn, just like all things that are alive and hold the shine of stars in them.

But the time for the return of Chaos was not now. Not in its true, full form, anyway. Chaos still had to recover itself greatly. However in the meantime, there were agents that would do its bidding.

Many things were created along with the birth of the Universe. Chaos was among the first, and from Chaos itself came two important deities: Erebus, who represents all that is darkness, and Nyx, who rules over night. Their union spawned many beings. The ones who would now follow Chaos's orders were Hypnos, the Sleep, and Thanatos, also known as Death.

For where there is light, there is also darkness. They'll forever seek out each other, in an ongoing battle lasting until the end of times. The Champion of Light, the holder of the brightest star in the galaxy was a woman that lived in a rural planet on the outskirts of the Milky Way. And so that was the target for Hypnos and Thanatos, in this latest chapter of their battle.

Two figures emerged suddenly in the middle of the night in a park in the area of Minato, Tokyo. They shimmered out of thin air into solid form and surveyed their surroundings. Energy surrounded them, as they were godlike creatures. One seemed to take the figure of a woman, with a delicate body covered by a long dark cloak and a hood that obscured the view from her face. Her skin was so white that it was almost translucent and her dark eyes gleamed in the moonlight. Her companion seemed to be a man, taller and more powerfully built than her. He was equally pale, with dark hair and eyes, and dressed with long midnight blue robes. He had in his hand a leather pouch that carried a powerful substance within it.

"Should we start?" The godlike man asked of his partner. He was Hypnos, currently expressing himself in a form similar to the inhabitants of this planet, even if his very essence worked as a force in the universe indispensable to all living beings. Right now he'd concentrate his efforts on this planet Earth.

"The first part is your show," the woman, Thanatos, replied quietly. "Do as you please, for I will take my time to take action." She then delicately crossed her thin arms and waited for him.

"All right," Hypnos replied with a curt nod.

He concentrated and his hands took on a light bluish glow. He started murmuring in a language so ancient it wasn't known to men, and he retrieved his hand from inside the leather pouch, carrying inside a small amount of a silvery, shimmering powder. He kept on chanting and praying quietly as his magic worked, and after a few minutes the powder dispersed along the city, carried out by an invisible breeze. Its magical properties allowed for the particles to transverse solid objects, and so the powder found its target, in the form of sleeping people all over the city. When they came into contact, the person slightly glowed blue for a second and remained asleep as if nothing had happened.

The two figures regarded each other for a moment, and then exchanged a nod. Once more, they shimmered and left this plane of existence. Their plan was now in motion.


	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon, its characters and universe were created by Naoko Takeuchi. I'm merely a fan of the series, writing stories as an attempt to maintain sanity while studying. I expect no profit from this. Except for the sanity, of course.

A.N.: I'll incorporate facts from the manga (and also from the Sailor V manga), but this is mainly based on the anime, and on Greek mythology. The knowledge from the scenes in the hospital comes from classes taken at college and from Grey's Anatomy. The latter probably is responsible for the dramatic flair added to aforementioned scenes.

* * *

**Starlight Destiny**

_Chapter One_

Hino Rei stood in the middle of the street as the sun dipped low in the horizon. She wore her Shinto priestess robes of red and white and watched her surroundings with keen eyes. For a moment, everything was too silent and still. No one else was in the street with her, no person or animal. No birds chirped, there wasn't the normal sound of traffic at this time of day; she couldn't hear voices or laughter or anything, really. The wind rushed by her ears and it was the only sound to register.

She felt a cold dread run down her spine. It was too silent and too still. And she had felt something like this before, this haunting stillness that preceded disaster.

"No..." She whispered to herself, the sound too loud in her ears. She whipped her head, looking around but she didn't know what she was searching for.

All of a sudden, her vision was pulled out of this quiet and deserted street and she could see in the distant something approaching. As her vision continued to pull away, the scenery grew smaller in detail and she could see the neighbourhood, the city, the island, the country, the continent and finally the whole planet as it seemed to be covered by ice in a matter of seconds.

Clutching at her chest as she gasped for breath, Rei sat up in bed, trying to keep the details of her dream in the waking world. But she needn't have worried, for the images seemed imprinted on her brain, and she doubted she'd forget about it, even if she wanted to.

She looked at her alarm clock glowing lightly in the darkness. 4h37. Sighing, she decided she might as well rise up to start another day. After all, now in addition to her usual chores and appointments, she'd need to make time to consult the fire and meet up with the girls to discuss this newest development. And she doubted she'd be able to go back to sleep, anyway.

"So much for peace and quiet," Rei sighed to herself as she walked to the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of tea. She sat at the table and flipped through pages of her dream journal as she sipped her tea quietly.

Rei had started to keep notes on her dreams ever since she realized they could foreshadow events that would come to happen, and it was especially important when it involved Senshi business. For the past couple of weeks, she'd been having weird dreams, but nothing as specific as this last one, and she wanted to compare notes on what she'd experienced so far.

She got lost in her thoughts and didn't realize how much time had passed until her grandfather slid open the wooden door and joined her.

"Good morning, grandpa," Rei smiled at him as she got up to get him a cup of tea.

"Good morning, Rei. You're up earlier than usual," Grandpa remarked as he moved over to the rice cooker to start cooking breakfast. Even though his granddaughter would be usually awake by 5a.m. he could tell that she'd been up before that.

"Yes," Rei said quietly. "I had a rather disturbing dream, and I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He questioned as he set the rice cooker and accepted the cup of tea she handed him.

"Thank you, but you don't need to worry about it," Rei said casually as she moved to the fridge and removed items needed to fix breakfast.

"Are you sure? You know, Rei, you don't have to go through these things on your own," Grandpa replied with a slight frown in his forehead.

"I'm sure," she smiled lightly over her shoulder. "I'll do a fire reading and talk to the girls, see if anyone's felt something. Maybe I'll even ring up Michiru-san, to make sure."

"All right. As long as you're not trying to do it all on your own," he smiled in relief.

Grandpa had known that his Rei-chan was special since she was quite young, and when she came to live with him at Hikawa Shrine it became all the more obvious. He knew she was destined to do great things, as he'd sensed great power within her. A couple of years ago, there had been a crisis that needed to be handled by the Sailor Senshi, and Rei had to reveal to him her true powers. Grandpa had known all along, ever since she'd been fourteen years old and first started running around with Usagi and Ami. But he was glad she took him in confidence and accepted his support, when she most needed it.

"No," Rei said quietly after a moment as she turned on the stove to fix some miso soup. "I wouldn't want to do it all on my own." After all, she had promised herself and the other girls after the whole deal with Pharaoh 90 that she wouldn't keep things like this to herself anymore in a vain attempt to keep them from worrying.

As they waited for the rice to cook, Rei went on with their usual routine: her grandfather would finish cooking breakfast and she'd eat a piece of fruit and go out for a morning jog in the neighbourhood. Half an hour later, she'd be back with the morning paper that she picked up at the newsstand and the two of them would eat in companionship as they took turns to read sections of the paper.

Afterwards, she'd wash the dishes and would start the daily cleaning of the shrine as her grandfather went on to take care of business. By 9 a.m. Rei would be done with a good portion of the floors and outer garden. Depending on the day, she'd put on her miko robes and tend to business at the Shrine or get ready to handle business elsewhere. Today she'd need to get changed and go to work at a recording studio downtown. She was currently working on a new album.

After she showered, she got her phone and texted the other Senshi. She would see Usagi later for the lunch meeting about her newest manga-turned-anime, "Moonlight Destiny" and get the finishing touches on her contract to voice-act for the main character. She also had agreed to have dinner with Minako and later work in a song-writing session. She wondered if the pop idol would mind to postpone this session and instead call in a Senshi meeting. Of course, she still needed to see if Ami wouldn't need to work the night shift at the hospital, and they might need to meet at Mako-chan's bakery to accommodate her instead of at the Shrine, as they usually did.

As the messages went out, Rei sighed for a moment and turned to look at a picture of the five of them when the girls had graduated from Juuban High School. They were all smiling, Usagi most of all as usual, and holding their diplomas. Rei had been there with them to celebrate, even though she went to a different, private school. It was almost a shock to her when she realized that had happened almost eight years ago. Back then they'd been full of dreams and expectations, all of them glad that there was some respite from the battles. Minako had just started her singing career, Ami had been accepted into Tokyo University to study medicine, Makoto had just started culinary school, Usagi would get married to Mamoru in two months after this and would soon start an internship with Marie Baishaku, the mangaka who had created "Aurora Wedding", and Rei herself had started doing some modelling and was working towards her so many goals in life.

Life was now busy for her and all her friends. They had grown up and somehow managed to become responsible, successful adults. Of course, that thought went mostly in Usagi's direction. It was a wonder how much their Princess had grown up over the years, yet she still managed to be essentially Usagi at the end of the day.

Rei shook her head and told herself to hurry up, or she'd be late. And she couldn't have that when she would always scold Usagi for being late even as a 25-year-old, now could she?

* * *

Aino Minako had been up almost as early as Rei. By 6 a.m., she was up and running, getting ready for another day of shooting for "Cherry Blossom Storm", the popular drama series she starred in. They were in the middle of the season, and by now they worked on a tight schedule. She'd have breakfast at the studio with her colleagues and they'd do a round of rehearsing their lines around the table for a couple of hours. Afterwards, they'd shoot the indoor scenes then break for lunch. In the afternoon usually followed the location shooting and that was always the most exciting part for Minako. She loved when the fans went out to watch them shoot a scene. It reminded her of her teenage years when she used to chase stars and wonder if one day she might get to be one.

They'd just finished rehearsing and were about to move to one of the indoor scenes when she checked her phone. Most actors would leave their personal mobiles with their assistants while they worked. Minako left her work phone with Akina, her assistant. But this was her personal mobile and it was another matter; the only people who reached her through that number were the Senshi, Luna and Artemis. She made sure to have it with her at all times, as there might be a Senshi emergency that needs her at any moment, and she didn't want Akina holding her calls on something so important just because she was in the middle of shooting.

Frowning slightly, she relaxed when she read Rei's message telling her of the weird dream and asking if they could change their plans for the evening. She fired a quick response back that the song-writing session could wait and they should all meet tonight, if possible. Thankfully she'd already cleared her schedule to meet with Rei, so it wouldn't be any trouble to change it a little bit. She'd make some time later that week or the next one to meet and collaborate with Rei again. If the Shinto priestess was having dreams, it was better they investigate it sooner rather than later.

She closed her phone and sighed, putting it back into her pocket. Just then someone called, "Aino-san! We're ready for the hospital scene!" She put on a bright smile and said, "Okay! Let's do our best, everybody!" as she ran into the room.

* * *

"Incoming!" The nurse called out seconds before the hospital doors opened and the paramedics walked in with two gurneys carrying two victims of a traffic collision. The doctors and other health care professionals in the emergency room moved efficiently to access the damage and provide the best care they could. Among them was Mizuno Ami, second-year surgical resident, who took charge of one of the incoming patients.

"All right," she said, taking the chart from the paramedic. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Car collision," the paramedic was short and to the point. "This is Yoshino Miyako, 27, driver number one, she was restrained. She has a broken wrist and trauma to the chest. Her blood pressure is 90 over 60, heart rate 120."

"Let's take this into trauma room one. Someone please page cardio and ortho!" Ami said over her shoulder as she wheeled the gurney into a room. "Hi, my name is Doctor Mizuno," she then turned to her patient with a calm smile. "Can you tell me your name?" Of course, she already knew her name, but the question was asked mostly to access the patient's condition.

"I'm Yoshino Miyako," the young woman said shakily, her breath coming in raggedly. "Doctor, will I be all right?"

"We'll make sure to do everything we can to help you, Yoshino-san. Now do you have any allergies or conditions we should know of? Are you taking any medication?"

"I'm allergic to penicillin," she said, pointing with a shaky hand to a silver bracelet around her wrist that said as much.

"All right," Ami noted that in her chart, and then addressed one of her interns. "Let's get a full trauma blood-work. I also need a portable ultrasound and chest x-ray."

To anyone watching, Ami behaved like a seasoned doctor. She used the same approach in the ER as she did in the battlefield: Keep her cool, access all the information available and act quickly to get ahead of the situation. She was working on the patient when the monitor showing the vital signs started beeping madly and her patient seemed to have difficulty breathing.

"Decreased breath sounds in the right lung," she said as she listened with her stethoscope. "It sounds like a tension pneumothorax. Get me the biggest needle you can find." She told her intern who was still assisting her. Ami quickly performed the correct procedure, sticking the needle in and letting the air flow out so the lung would re-inflate. It went accordingly but the patient still had difficulty breathing and in a moment she became unconscious.

"Now get an intubation kit," Ami then told the intern. "You're doing it, Sasaki-san. Visualize the cords," the intern followed her instructions and soon the patient had a tube down her throat to help her breath and had stabilized. "Good job," she smiled at the intern.

"Thank you, Mizuno-san," the brunette girl said with a nervous grin.

"Did anyone page cardio?" Ami questioned over her shoulder as she checked the patient once more with the stethoscope. Her moment of respite was brief, as the monitor started beeping once more.

"Yes, doctor. Doctor Chiba called and said he's almost here. Apparently the car accident caused some traffic jam in the neighbourhood," a nurse said, getting off the phone at the nurses' station. "And Doctor Watanabe is still in surgery."

"Damn," Ami murmured slightly to herself. "I hear muffled heart sounds. It's probably a cardiac tamponade. I need to do a pericardiocentesis. Bring me the portable ultrasound," she ordered the intern as a nurse brought over a large needle needed for the procedure.

"You're doing this here?" The intern Sasaki squeaked slightly in surprise as she put the gel on the ultrasound and applied it over the patient's chest.

"I have no choice, there's no time. Look, see that?" And she pointed at the screen showing an image of the patient's heart. "The pericardium is deeply inflamed; it could get her into shock or cause a cardiac arrest." Using the ultrasound as a guide so she wouldn't puncture the heart, she made a cut with a blade and stuck the needle through it until it reached the sac around the heart, which was filled with fluid. Using the needle, she drained a great quantity of blood and was able to reduce the pressure on the heart.

Just as she was done, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. "All right, good job on that. Let's book an OR and get this moving. You're scrubbing in, Ami-chan," Mamoru smiled at her from the doorway as he already moved to get changed and get on with the surgery they'd need to access more damage and stabilize their patient.

"Thank you, Mamoru-san," she smiled at him, and then turned to the intern Sasaki. "Would you like to assist us, Sasaki-san?"

The girl smiled brightly. "Yes, thank you, Mizuno-san!" Sasaki Chiemi considered herself to be very lucky. It was her only her second month into the surgical residency program and she got to study under Mizuno Ami, who was one of the best residents, even though she was only a second-year. Not only that but now she'd get to assist in a surgery with Doctor Chiba Mamoru, the newest and most promising attending doctor in the cardiothoracic department.

As their patient stabilized and they moved her to an operating room, Ami quickly checked her phone. The message from Rei was brief and to the point, as was Minako's reply to that. Luckily, Ami had to work the early shift today, as she'd been here since 6 a.m. By dinner time she'd be free to leave and meet up with the girls. She texted a quick reply, suggesting they meet at Mako-chan's to accommodate her. And that way maybe this night Ami would get to eat a decent meal.

* * *

Kino Makoto had arisen early as well so she could receive a delivery at her flower shop. She took care of her newest additions and put them in their correct places, all the while singing quietly to the plants. As she did every morning, she spent some time watering and fertilizing and pruning. After about an hour, she deemed it a job well done, and moved on to the adjoined store, which was her bakery.

As she walked in, she saw her business partner, Furuhata Unazuki, getting ready to open for another day of business. The two of them had come together a couple of years ago, when Makoto had expressed her wish to open her own business, but as she had concentrated on the cooking and taking care of plants, she didn't know much about the business part itself. Unazuki had come up with a partnership: She had gone to business school and would be able to organize it all, and she considered it to be valuable work and experience before her parents passed on the management for Crown Parlour and Crown Games Store to her. So far, the partnership was a success, as were the bakery and flower shop.

"Good morning, Mako-chan," Unazuki smiled at her.

"Good morning, Unazuki-chan," Makoto replied also with a smile. "The new plants are all set in."

"That's great! Thank you for receiving them. I thought it was best to let you handle the delivery instead of risking me ruining something by accident," she said with a sheepish smile. It was a running joke with them and their friends that even though Unazuki managed a flower shop she could never keep a plant alive for longer than a couple of weeks.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Makoto waved a hand dismissively. "I'm glad to do it."

"Thanks anyway. And listen, I made a doctor's appointment and I'll need to leave near lunch time, but to make it up to you I'll close up the store today."

"No problem. Is everything okay?" Makoto said with a slight frown.

"It's nothing," Unazuki said breezily. "I've just been feeling a bit under the weather, and I thought I'd check it out."

"Good idea," Makoto nodded.

Soon the two set into their work routine. Unazuki mostly handled costumers and deliveries and their staff while Makoto occupied herself in the kitchen with her delicious creations and her cooking assistants. Only when Unazuki had to leave that Makoto went out into the store front properly and she took a moment to interact with her costumers.

The bell at the door tinkled to indicate that another costumer had entered the bakery. Makoto turned from behind the counter and smiled at seeing her guest. "Usagi-chan! What are you doing here?"

"Good morning, Mako-chan! I'm on my way to lunch with Rei-chan, but I wanted to stop by and check on you," the blonde said cheerfully.

"Check on me?" Makoto repeated in a confused tone.

"Yeah, I noticed you never replied to any of the messages we sent this morning," Usagi said, indicating the phone in her hand. "And usually I'm the last one to reply. I thought that was weird."

Just then, Makoto reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone. "Damn, I must have silenced it by mistake," she said with an apologetic smile as she quickly scanned the messages. "So Rei's having dreams, huh? That can't be good," she finished with a frown.

"Yeah," Usagi nodded quietly. It had been years since they'd had to deal with something major. Of course, over the years the Sailor Senshi were still needed to deal with some crisis, and a few out-of-space enemies came by every now and then, but they'd been minor occurrences. The last big battle they had was with Galaxia, and that had been ten years before.

"Hey," Makoto said with a sweet smile as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be able to handle it."

"You're right," Usagi replied with some relief. As long as she had her friends, they'd be able to fight whatever came their way. "Anyway, we thought we'd meet here so you won't have to close up the shop just to meet us."

"Actually, Unazuki is closing up today," Makoto replied. "But why don't you all come up to my apartment and I'll cook us dinner? It has been a while since I've treated you all."

"Yay! Mako-chan's home-made cooking! You know I won't say no to that," Usagi grinned from ear to ear.

"All right," Makoto laughed lightly at that. "I'll let the girls know." She texted a quick message to the others.

"Ooh is this new?" Usagi said, checking out a piece of strawberry shortcake on display.

"It's a new recipe I'm trying," Makoto smiled proudly. "I'm getting good reviews from my regulars. Would you like to try one?"

"I would," Usagi smiled. "Actually, I meant to take something for Rei to cheer her up. I don't know how she can stand these dreams, but I always think food ought to make it better, right?"

"That's your answer for pretty much everything, Usagi-chan," Makoto laughed.

"You can't blame me, especially when it's your food we're talking about. It's only the _best_ food in all of Japan!"

"All right, you flatterer. How about I make something special for our dessert tonight?" Makoto winked at her.

"Oh really? You spoil us, Mako-chan!"

"Well, like I said it has been a while since I cooked for you all. Say, weren't you meeting Rei for lunch?"

"Oh shoot! You're right!" Usagi exclaimed as she looked at her wristwatch. "I'll be late if I don't leave now. I'll never hear the end of it! See you later, Mako-chan!"

"Bye, Usagi-chan," Makoto waved after her as the blonde left in a whirlwind.

* * *

It was late evening when Chiba Usagi had finished her pages for the day for her newest manga. She smiled proudly as she surveyed the pages filled with her drawings. Now she just had to send it to her assistant to do the lettering. She would drop them off on her way to Makoto's.

"All done?" Luna asked as she walked into Usagi's drawing studio at the house she shared with Mamoru.

"Yes!" Usagi said with a big smile. "This story just keeps flowing out of me, it's amazing."

"Well, it should be, as it's basically about your life in the Silver Millennium," Luna said rather dryly.

"It's _based_ on it, not a retelling," Usagi said with a sideways glare. "I've changed a lot of stuff, and I'm also inventing a lot of concepts."

"I know. You're doing a good job with it, Usagi-chan. Really." The two of them exchanged a smile. "I'm still surprised that you became a mangaka. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that, and when I look at you now I would not have believed it if I'd known this would happen when I first met you all those years ago."

"Gee, Luna. You make a compliment sound like an insult, somehow," Usagi said rather dryly, but the next moment she brightened up. "But I know what you mean. Back then what I most wanted was to meet my prince charming and be a bride. And I did just that, my wish came true. But then when I got into High School I realized I might need to do something else other than be a wife and mother and Sailor Moon. And you know how I always loved manga."

"It was a sound choice. There's never been a bigger dreamer than you, and your art has improved greatly over the years," the little black cat nodded sagely.

"Thanks," Usagi grinned back at her. "Well, I'm on my way to Mako-chan's. You're coming, right?"

"Of course. But I'll meet Artemis before. We'll be there later on."

"All right. Have a nice date!" She said teasingly with a wicked grin as she gathered her shoulder bag and put the pages inside a folder. Luna opened her mouth to retort, but then just shook her head and went out the window.

Half an hour later, Usagi was in Makoto's apartment. The two old friends enjoyed each other's company as Makoto cooked and Usagi helped. Though to be honest Usagi mostly kept her entertained with stories about the manga and anime production, which she'd oversee from time to time.

"Honestly, I don't want them turning my characters into something completely different from my ideas, and sometimes that will happen when a manga gets turned into an anime," Usagi complained.

"Oh I know. I remember how sometimes the differences would be so bizarre. But if you're overseeing some of the writing for the anime it should be okay," Makoto replied.

"I hope so," Usagi sighed, though she remained optimistic.

Just then the doorbell rang. Makoto walked out to answer it and Usagi took the opportunity to sneak a piece of strawberry and whipped cream.

"Ami-chan, Mamoru-san, welcome!" Makoto greeted them both with a huge smile.

"Good evening, Mako-chan. We're sorry for barging in on you this evening," Ami said, ever polite and mindful of the troubles they brought to her.

"Don't worry about it," Makoto shook her head and ushered them in. "It was my idea to cook for you all. Please make yourselves at home."

"Hi, Ami-chan! Mamo-chan!" Usagi exclaimed happily as she walked out of the kitchen and enthusiastically hugged her husband. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Well, Ami mentioned that this was a Senshi emergency and I thought I'd better tag along. If it's anything serious, I want to be informed," he told his wife reasonably.

"Oh you're right. I only didn't tell you this morning because I figured you could use some rest tonight, and I'd fill you in later on," she said with a slight pout.

"And here I thought she just didn't want to share my home-cooked meal with you," Makoto said with a wink from the doorway to the kitchen, and Usagi playfully stuck her tongue out at her.

"Well, there's also that," Mamoru said with some humour, and received an indignant and high-pitched "Mamo-chan!" from his wife, to which the girls laughed.

"It'll be just a few more minutes. Hopefully the others won't be too long," Makoto said as she checked her watch.

As they waited, they talked of their day. Ami and Mamoru told of the surgery they performed in the morning, and how they successfully saved the woman's life. Usagi told them how she'd met with Rei and their agents and representatives of the animation studio and how Rei was now officially the voice of Usagi's newest heroine. Production was already underway and the anime was expected to debut the next season, during the summer.

"That's great!" Ami exclaimed excitedly.

"It really is!" Usagi nodded emphatically. "And how was your day, Mako-chan?"

"Oh you know, the usual: just another day baking and cooking and taking care of my plants," she said with a smile. She then left to answer the door and when she returned, Minako was with her. The blonde, however, was arguing on her mobile phone with someone.

"I'm saying 'no' and that's final," Minako said through greeted teeth. "Is that clear? Okay. Thank you. Goodbye." She sighed, and then turned with a bright smile to her friends. "Hi, everybody!"

"Hey, Minako-chan. Who was that?" Usagi questioned, ever curious about anything regarding her friends.

"My stupid agent," Minako said with a frown. "Can you believe he called about a part in a movie with Yuu?"

"Your ex-husband Komiyama Yuu?" Even Mamoru seemed surprised at that.

"Wow, that's a bit insensitive," Makoto said with sympathy. "Your divorce has only been final for a year now."

"Thank you! That's exactly what I told him," Minako said exasperatedly. "After everything that happened there's no way in a million years I'll ever do another movie with him."

"He was a right jerk to you, Minako-chan. But still, I loved so much the movies you did together. I can see how your agent would try to persuade you to do another," Usagi said with a half smile.

"I know," Minako replied with a sigh. "But I don't care if some of our films were the best-selling romances in the last twenty years. I'll be glad if I don't ever have to see him again, let alone work with him once more."

"To be honest, I thought your own relationship was the best-selling romance," Ami said contemplatively. "I've never seen the nation so interested in the lives of two people."

"It was the stuff of madness, that's what it was," Minako said as she plopped down onto a chair. "Anyway, enough about that. Hey, where's our resident psychic?"

"Rei isn't here yet," Makoto replied. "I hope she's all right, it's very unusual for her to be late."

Just then, the doorbell rang. "That will be her. I'll get it," Ami said, and Makoto smiled in thanks as she went into the kitchen so they could serve dinner.

"Good evening, everybody," Rei said tiredly as she came into the dining room. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was trying to do a fire reading and lost track of time."

"It's okay," Ami said easily and the others promptly agreed.

"I guess that makes us even then," Usagi said with a grin and an eyebrow raised in challenge. "I was late for lunch, and now you're late for dinner."

"Well, yes I was late because I was doing something important," Rei said with a wicked glint in her dark eyes. "You were late because you're just you."

"That's not true!" Usagi spluttered indignantly. "I was checking on Mako-chan, are you saying that's not important?"

"I'm sure that was only an excuse so you could ogle at all the cakes in her bakery," Rei replied, turning her nose up in the air.

"Rei-chan, you're mean!"

The others all took it in stride as Usagi and Rei engaged in their loving antagonistic antics, mostly ignoring them and helping Makoto to set up the table and serve dinner. In a short while, they were seated and enjoying a lovely meal of meatloaf, rice and steamed vegetables as they chatted amiably about everyday life occurrences. It was only after they were almost done with dessert (one of Makoto's special strawberry shortcakes) that Luna and Artemis joined them so they could discuss the situation regarding Rei's dream.

The mood in the room had been light with laughter and teasing banter that could only come from years of strong, close friendships. Suddenly it became serious and quiet as Rei described her latest dream and the previous impressions she'd gotten.

"It's just like when Silence and Pharaoh 90 were approaching," Usagi whispered, and Mamoru grabbed her hand to lend her some comfort. She smiled gratefully at him for the gesture.

"Have you tried talking to Haruka and Michiru?" Minako questioned, her attitude the complete opposite of how she'd been five minutes before, teasing Usagi endlessly about some inconsequential matter. Right now she was the Leader of the Senshi.

"Not yet," Rei shook her head. "I wanted to take a try at the fire and tell you guys first. But now that's number one in my priorities list."

"Did you learn anything from the fire reading?" Makoto asked.

"Nothing specific. Just more impressions of this haunting stillness and a sense of approaching danger," Rei said apologetically.

"We should try to check on Setsuna as well," Ami reasoned. "If it's a serious threat that might affect our future, she would know." The others nodded their agreement.

"Could it be Chaos?" It was Artemis who asked the question, but all eyes turned to Usagi then.

"I don't know," Rei admitted reluctantly, biting at her lip. "But I don't think it's an enemy we fought before."

"At any rate," Luna spoke with a voice commanding attention, "it's unlikely to be Chaos itself. It hasn't been that long since its last encounter with Eternal Sailor Moon, and it would need a great amount of time to recover completely."

"But we can't rule out an agent acting under the influence of Chaos," Mamoru was loathe to admit it, but they had to analyze all the possibilities.

"No, we can't," Usagi nodded calmly and continued in a quiet voice. "Beryl, the Black Moon, Pharaoh 90, the Dead Moon Circus and even Galaxia were all acting under its orders or influence."

"But we've also had enemies who didn't have anything to do with Chaos, like Ail and An," Makoto pointed out.

"Or Snow Princess Kaguya," Luna added. She was about to add a few more to the list, like a crisis they'd dealt with a couple of years ago, but she took one look at Rei's tense figure and stopped.

"That's true," Minako carried on and her forehead furrowed as she took it all in. "Well, if Rei's having dreams about it, we can only assume it's something big, Chaos or not. Since it seems for now we don't have anything concrete to go on about, we should check with Haruka and Michiru, and definitely check with Setsuna."

"I already sent Michiru a message," Rei said, indicating the phone in her hand. "They're in the country, right? I never know with those two."

"I think so," Ami replied. "Michiru was organizing a showing of her newest paintings at a gallery."

"All right, so that's that," Minako nodded. "Usagi-chan, can you go talk to Setsuna?"

"She'd be less reluctant to divulge sensitive information if it's you who ask," Artemis elaborated on Minako's train of thought.

"Of course," Usagi nodded earnestly.

"I'll go too," Mamoru added. "We can stop by her place on our way back home."

"All right," Luna nodded in approval. "Unfortunately it seems that for now this is all we can do."

"Let's keep our ears up and our eyes open for anything weird," Minako said.

"And be safe," Makoto reminded. It never seemed enough to stress on that.

"I'll tell you all if I have anymore dreams and if Michiru answers," Rei said.

"I'm working the night shift tomorrow, so I'll try to track her down in the morning," Ami offered, and the others nodded in appreciation.

Soon their meeting was over. Usagi and Mamoru went off to Setsuna's and Luna went on ahead to their house with Artemis accompanying her. Rei also left as she was rather tired and wanted to see if anything would come up in her dreams; on one hand, she hoped it would be a quiet night as she could use a good night's sleep and on the other, well they could use more information. Ami and Minako stayed to help Makoto with clean up and the dishes. Though to be fair Ami was helping while Minako mostly entertained them.

* * *

Mamoru killed the engine as he parked the car in the garage. He looked at his wife, who had her delicate features marred by a frown. Usagi seemed lost in thought and she hadn't yet noticed that they'd arrived at their home.

"Usako?"

"Hmm?" She looked up distractedly at him. "Oh we're here already? I'm sorry, Mamo-chan. I was just thinking."

"Would you like to share?" He tenderly held her hand as they just sat there for a moment.

"Well, it's just really unfortunate that Setsuna-san wasn't at her house. I really hoped she could help us; that she'd know what Rei's dream was all about." She paused for a moment, and then they decided to get out of the car and get into the house. "Where do you suppose she is?"

"Probably at the Gates of Time," Mamoru said as he put his key in the front door. The lights were on, but that was expected as Luna should be home already.

"Hmm. Probably," Usagi agreed, and then she turned to him with a wicked grin. "Or maybe she met a handsome lover."

From what he knew of Setsuna, Mamoru very much doubted that, but he let his wife have her fantasies. She would never get tired of trying to set people up, but Setsuna had been her most reluctant project so far. He closed the door behind them and was about to say something when Usagi suddenly shrieked and dropped the bags she'd been carrying on the floor as she walked into the living room.

"Usako!" Mamoru sprinted after her and was about to transform into Tuxedo Kamen, but all he saw were Luna and Artemis calmly sitting on the couch and Usagi hugging someone with pink hair. "Chibi-Usa?" He said in shock as he still couldn't really see her.

"It seems Small Lady has come for a visit," Luna told Mamoru with a smile.


	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon, its characters and universe were created by Naoko Takeuchi. I'm merely a fan of the series, writing stories as an attempt to maintain sanity while studying. I expect no profit from this. Except for the sanity, of course.

* * *

**Starlight Destiny**

_Chapter Two_

"It seems Small Lady has come for a visit," Luna told Mamoru with a smile.

"Hi, Mamo-chan," his future daughter grinned from the crushing hug she was locked in. It took a few moments to pry Usagi away from her, but when she did he could properly see her, and it became apparent that the name "Chibi-Usa" didn't seem suitable anymore. She stood as tall as Usagi, and seemed like a proper young lady now. Her hair was still done in the twin buns shaped like rabbit ears in her head, but her pink tresses came down all the way past her waist now.

"Oh my God, look at you! You're so pretty!" Usagi exclaimed excitedly. "How old are you now?"

"I'm fifteen," the girl smiled proudly at them as they took it all in.

"You look wonderful," Mamoru smiled tenderly at her, and she blushed a little. "Well, Chibi-Usa hardly seems a fitting name now. We're going to have to call you something else."

"How about Usa-chan?" The girl suggested. "That won't be too confusing, right?"

"Usa-chan," Usagi said contemplatively and smiled. "I like that. But what are you doing here? Is everything all right? Did something happen in the future?"

"No, everything is all right," Usa said. "I have just fully matured and I'm Sailor Moon now! I wanted to show you guys and Mama and Puu thought it would be a good idea if I came for a visit while we're gathering the Sailor Quartet in the 30th century."

At the mention of Pluto, Mamoru and Usagi exchanged a glance. "So that's why she wasn't home," Mamoru said, and then turned with a grin to his wife. "I told you she was at the Gates of Time."

"Oh I really wish this time she'd found herself a man," Usagi sighed, and Usa looked in confusion at them.

"What's going on?" Artemis questioned.

"We couldn't find Setsuna at her house," Mamoru explained.

"Is there any trouble?" Usa asked with a frown, looking between the cats and the younger versions of her parents.

"There might be," Usagi said quietly. "Come into the kitchen, we'll tell you everything. Are you hungry?"

"Why, are you cooking?" Usa asked cautiously with a raised eyebrow.

"No, we brought leftovers from Mako-chan's," Mamoru replied, as he indicated a bag he was carrying, which he'd retrieved from the floor as Usagi had dropped it in shock at seeing Usa.

"In that case, yeah! I'm hungry," Usa grinned and followed them.

"What is that supposed to mean? You don't like my cooking?" Usagi retorted as she crossed her arms and soon she and Usa were bickering light-heartedly as Mamoru shook his head to himself and exchanged a smile with Luna and Artemis.

* * *

The next morning Ami went, as promised, after Michiru. The Senshi of the Seas had replied to Rei that she hadn't had any premonitions, and accordingly Rei had passed on the message to the others. Yet Ami felt a visit would be nice and she could also explain in greater detail Rei's dream.

She found the artist and musician in an art gallery in Minato, setting up her paintings for the upcoming showing at the end of this week. Ami studied the paintings while Michiru dealt some business with the gallery manager. Michiru's work seemed a mix of light paintings that overall brought hope to the viewer, and darker ones that brought out despair. They were all, of course, exquisitely beautiful.

"Do you like it?" Michiru questioned as they stood in front of a painting. This one in particular seemed to showcase the overall dichotomy of her theme, with the right side featuring a figure in light colours and soft strokes, some of the lines almost forming angel wings around this person. On the left side was a dark figure, bigger and menacing with harsh paint strokes and dark, vivid colours.

"I do," Ami turned to her with a smile. "I'm sorry to bother you at such a time."

"It doesn't matter," Michiru shook her head dismissively. "Come, sit. Tell me all about it."

The two of them sat down on a bench. Ami explained in as much detail as she could what Rei had told them of her dream. She also summarized their discussion and highlighted a few points, like ideas of what could this new menace be.

Michiru sat for a while without saying anything, looking pensively at the far wall. Ami waited patiently for her input on the matter.

"Haruka and I have tried to monitor out-of-space activity periodically for the past couple of years," she finally said, turning back to Ami. "Once a month we go to our castles in Triton and Miranda and look at reports of the monitoring system. The last time we checked, there didn't seem to be any breach into our Solar System."

"All right," Ami nodded. "And you haven't felt anything? No premonitions? Nothing like when Silence was approaching?"

"No," Michiru replied, though she hesitated somewhat. "I haven't had dreams or premonitions. I haven't seen anything in the mirror." She paused and lightly bit her lip, a sign of uneasiness that Ami could detect. "You see, I don't have anything concrete about it. But I have a feeling."

"A feeling?" Ami questioned, her brow furrowed.

"I can't explain it," Michiru said rather helplessly, which was certainly unusual. "I've mentioned it to Haruka a couple of times now. It's a feeling, almost like an instinct. For as much as I can't see anything, I know there's something. Do you know what I mean?"

To be honest, Ami didn't. She dealt with facts, numbers and images, tangible things. This was not her territory, all of these dreams and premonitions and feelings. But she could understand what it was like, on a level, for people like Rei and Michiru. They dealt with the uncertain, with the occult. The simplest parallel to her life she could draw was when she knew, when she was performing a surgery, where the stitch would hold better. Or that feeling she had when she knew what the test results would show before she even looked at them, even without any evidence to back up her intuition.

"I understand," Ami said. She sighed for a moment. "I wish there was more information to go on about this."

"I know, it's very frustrating," Michiru nodded. "In these occasions, it's really such a shame that Setsuna isn't living with us anymore. It was so much easier to compare notes back then."

"We tried to find Setsuna. Well, at least Usagi and Mamoru did. But she wasn't at her house last night," Ami said. "But you're right; maybe we should all get together and try to see what this is all about."

"I agree," Michiru replied. "I'll try to get a hold of them and make plans to meet you."

"Thank you," Ami said as they both stood up. "Usagi-chan sent me a message about having dinner tomorrow night at their house and told me to pass it along to you and Haruka, since I'd be meeting you today."

"That would be lovely. We'll make sure to go," Michiru smiled. "I'll call Usagi-chan and let her know. And thank you for coming all the way here to meet me, Ami-chan."

"It was no problem," Ami shook her head. "And it was good seeing you. Your showing will be this Friday, right? I'll try to come."

Michiru smiled in thanks and soon the two of them parted ways. The aqua-haired artist went back to organizing her art showing and the blue-haired doctor went on to her apartment. She had some studying to do and she'd later meet her mother for an early lunch before going in to work at the hospital. But in the back of her mind she was stuck with the thought that if Michiru was having so much as a feeling then it certainly didn't bode well for them.

* * *

The bell rang signalling the end of class and the fourth-year medical students went out for their lunch break. Among them stood Tomoe Hotaru, now a young twenty-one year old woman. After her latest reincarnation following the defeat of Galaxia, she'd been able to grow up as a normal twelve year-old. Well, as normal as a Sailor Senshi could be, anyway.

As she walked out into the campus, she put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. There was a sudden murmuring among the students, especially the male ones. She looked curiously as they seemed to gather by the front open doors. Now Hotaru had grown since she was twelve, but still she wasn't tall like Haruka-papa or Makoto-chan. She walked around the group of young men and when she did, she was startled by what she saw.

There stood a beautiful girl with the most unusual colour of hair. Her pink mane was gathered in twin buns atop her head, with her long tresses flowing down past her waist. She wore a blue top with a short black jacket and a short white skirt, showing off her long legs, which explained the sudden interest of all the guys. Hotaru couldn't see from this distance, but she knew when she got close red eyes would sparkle up at her.

"Chibi-Usa?" She called out and hurried up to meet her. The girl turned with a bright smile at the sound of her voice and ran up to her as well. "Is it really you? Oh my God! Look at you!"

The two met in a fierce hug. "Hi, Hotaru-chan!" They stood apart and looked at each other up close. "Wow, look at you yourself!"

Hotaru blushed under her scrutiny, but she also knew how different she looked. Ten years before, she'd been as short and child-like as Chibi-Usa. Now they both stood, fully formed beautiful young women. Hotaru actually even stood a bit taller than her friend, who seemed to follow her mother's rather short stature.

"I'm so glad to see you," Hotaru said.

"I came for a visit and I couldn't wait to see you," her friend told her enthusiastically. "Do you want to go for lunch?"

"Of course!" Hotaru smiled widely as she grabbed her arm and pulled her along. They chatted animatedly as Hotaru led them to a nearby restaurant where they sat down at a table to eat and enjoy each other's company.

"So tell me everything," Usa said. "I want to know everything that happened since I was last here. I can't believe it's been ten years for you guys."

"Well, as you know, I got into medical school. I wanted to do something to help people other than being a Senshi, and with my healing powers it seemed like a good choice," Hotaru explained and Usa nodded along.

"Of course," she said. "I'm sure you'll be wonderful, just like Mamo-chan and Ami-chan."

"I hope to be as good as they are," Hotaru said dreamily. "They're both working in the same hospital, you know? Mamoru-san is now an attending and Ami-chan is doing her surgical residency."

"I know, Usagi-chan and Mamo-chan told me all last night when I got here," Usa said. "But c'mon! I want to know all the gossip. Usagi only told me the basics because it was rather late."

"The gossip?" Hotaru laughed lightly. "Why, I'm sure you know all about it from living in the future."

"I don't," Usa pouted in reply. "After all, they wouldn't put details of their personal lives into the history books, right? And they never told me too much of their lives before Crystal Tokyo, and that's what I'm interested in. I'm sure a lot of things must have happened in the last ten years."

"Well, they certainly did," Hotaru said contemplatively.

They spent the next hour going over important events that happened in Usa's absence, all the way from Minako launching her career while still in High School to Usagi and Mamoru's wedding and Usagi becoming a mangaka and Rei's rising career as a model/singer/songwriter/voice-actress to Makoto opening her bakery/flower shop and Ami working with Mamoru in the hospital and Michiru working on her career as an artist and musician and Haruka's racing career. And, of course, all of the relationship shenanigans that happened during those years as well, like Minako's marriage (and subsequent divorce) and Makoto's various boyfriends and Ami surprising them all with a live-in boyfriend.

"Ami-chan was living with a boyfriend?" Usa's mind boggled at the prospect. The blue-haired genius had always been so shy, and for some reason Usa couldn't fathom her going for a less traditional setting for a relationship. After all, living together without being married wasn't something she'd pictured any of the girls doing.

"Yeah," Hotaru nodded earnestly. "He was this really young and cute professor who taught Mamoru at Keio University. Ami was in a relationship with him for most of the time she attended Tokyo University, and after a while they moved in together. I think they only broke up because he got a really great job in England, and she wouldn't go with him."

"Hmm," Usa mused for a moment to herself. It always seemed that the Senshi of the past had the dilemma of choosing duty over love. She thought that was such a shame, because, just as her mother, all she wanted was for them to have love and happiness in their lives. She vowed that when they gathered her Senshi in the future she wouldn't have them make such a choice. They'd work things out, no matter what.

"Poor Ami-chan," Usa said after a moment. "And what about Rei-chan? I always thought she'd end up with that guy who lived at the Shrine and who was so head over heels for her."

Hotaru frowned for a moment at the question. "Well, you see, it's complicated, Usa-chan," she said quietly. "They did get together after a while. Rei-chan can be very stubborn, but she cared for Yuuichirou-san. They were actually planning on getting married, but..."

"But?" Usa prompted apprehensively. Hotaru then heaved a sigh and carried on.

"A couple of years ago we had an enemy from outer space. It was the usual deal: Megalomaniac and evil guy roams space, finds Earth and gets attracted to the Silver Crystal, so he decides to conquer it. The Senshi fought him and his minions, there was a big battle, and in the end Eternal Sailor Moon vanquished him and saved the Earth," Hotaru said with some detachment to her voice, almost as if she hadn't lived through it. "But the thing is that during the ensuing battles, we had some casualties. And Yuuichirou-san was one of them."

Usa covered her mouth with her hands to keep from gasping. They fell into a heavy silence then, and Usa could now understand why Usagi hadn't wanted to share any gossip with her the night before. She felt terrible and could only imagine the pain Rei had lived through.

"Oh poor Rei-chan," she whispered, and Hotaru could only nod in agreement. Their impromptu lunch date became a lot more solemn than the way it had started, and they remained quiet for a few moments.

Suddenly, Hotaru smiled up and Usa got curious. "Well, there's still one piece of gossip left to tell you," the dark-haired girl said with a grin. "I have a boyfriend."

"Really?" Usa was surprised to hear this, but she quickly smiled back at her. "Who is he? Do I know him?"

"Yeah, in fact you know him rather well," Hotaru replied, and her cheeks flushed a little as she elaborated. "It's Shingo-kun."

"Usagi's brother Shingo?" Usa was very much surprised with this. "My uncle Shingo?" She then became confused at the prospect. If they got married, would that make Hotaru her aunt? Ugh, it was best not to think of that.

"Yes," Hotaru nodded shyly. "We got to know each other a little better when we were in High School. He was two years ahead of me, but he remembered I was Usagi-chan's friend. We became friends, and a few years ago we started going out."

"That's great, Hotaru-chan!" Usa smiled at her. She was glad to see that this time around her friend was having a better time with her life. She seemed a whole lot more confident and happy, and Usa only wished the best for her.

"Boy, it's going to be fun explaining to him who you really are," Hotaru said with a rather wicked smile. "You see, he now knows all about the Senshi. But we never told him about you."

"That should be fun," Usa agreed as she raised an eyebrow, also interested at the prospect.

The two old friends shared a laugh at that and kept on chatting merrily. Usa was rather sad to learn what the fates had brought to Rei and the others, but she was equally glad for those who found love in their lives, and the news of Hotaru and Shingo being together, for as much as it weirded her out a little, was great news if there ever was any.

* * *

Before coming in to work, Ami met her mother for lunch. It was funny how now that they lived apart the two of them made more of an effort to spend time with each other, when before it was sort of given that they'd meet at their apartment at one time or another, even if that happened rather scarcely because of their busy schedules.

A few years ago, Ami's mother had left her job at Juuban General Hospital (the same hospital where Ami was now doing her residency) and joined a private practice with a few colleagues. It lessened the work hours and she got to concentrate more on her patients and in other interests in her life. Perhaps that could also account for the greater frequency of their mother-daughter get-togethers.

As usual, the conversation at one point inevitably veered towards their careers and interesting cases they worked on, and her mother had a remarkable story to share.

"Yesterday morning we had a patient come in, one of my kids," Doctor Kawashima Akemi (as she'd gone back to using her maiden name) said, before taking a sip of water. "She was in a state of deep sleep as I've never seen before. Her parents tried everything to wake her up, and eventually they got worried there was something wrong with her and brought her to our office. She didn't seem be in a coma, but it was almost like it."

"What did the exams show?" Ami listened enraptured as she finished eating her lunch. It was nice that now she also had more things to share with her mother, and she was always curious to hear medical stories from her.

"Her blood-work was normal. We don't usually check for it, but I thought it would be interesting to see the levels of melatonin and they were the only ones elevated out of the norm. Even her serotonin levels were normal, and that was certainly weird," Akemi said. "From the physical exams her brain seemed to work perfectly, but we couldn't be sure so we sent her to the hospital for a CT head scan, and brain activity registered normal."

"Really?" Ami said in surprise. "That's quite a mystery. Almost like a coma, but not quite like it, yet the exams are mostly normal. What was your approach?"

"Well, we tried to give her stimulants to see what effects it would have, and there didn't seem to be any. We decided to measure the levels in her blood and it was the most amazing thing: The stimulant seemed to be degraded as soon as it reached her bloodstream, but we still couldn't see what was causing that to happen, or where the unusual amount of melatonin was coming from," Akemi replied with a frown, and Ami had never been more interested in a dilemma before.

"Is she still at the hospital? I have neuro today so I'll try to take a look at her chart," Ami said.

"Yes, she was checked in as we didn't have a diagnosis and we weren't successful in waking her up," Akemi replied, and it seemed like a personal failure that she hadn't been able to solve this case.

"I'll look into it and keep you posted on any new development," Ami said with a smile and her mother smiled back at her. Of course, the attending physicians at the hospital were already well informed of the case and would notify her with any changes, but it was nice that Ami was so into it. She knew that her daughter would not let this go now that she had this new bone to chew.

Their conversation carried on through other matters, but in the back of her mind Ami was now completely involved with this new mystery. She couldn't wait to get into work and get her hands on it.

* * *

Makoto was in a rather foul mood. She tried to go on about her days with the best positive attitude she could muster. After all, she was a firm believer that kindness generates kindness and that it was only a small effort in trying to make the world a better place. She should know it, after living so many years in Usagi's company.

However, today was not a good day. The flour delivery had been late in the morning, and that upset her schedule. At first, it was only that and she decided to remain positive, even if her schedule for the day had been rather disrupted. She had to move some things around, but in the end she made it work and got the sample menu ready for the couple that would come by at lunch time to check her services for catering to their wedding. And then they hadn't showed up, and not even called or given any sort of notice about it, which was really very rude. She was starting to get annoyed.

And then in the afternoon one of her assistants failed to show up to work for the second day in a row. Also without giving any sort of notice, or even an excuse. Makoto was quickly becoming pissed.

It was in that rather unfortunate state of mind that Unazuki found her in the office of the bakery. The cooking chef was gritting her teeth as she held the phone to her ear and glared at the opposite wall.

"Trouble?" Unazuki frowned at the scene before her.

"Ishikawa hasn't come to work. Again," Makoto stressed the last word and it came out almost as a growl. She then slammed the cordless phone back on the charger with a grunt. "And he hasn't deemed himself to pick up the phone."

"Well, boys will be boys," Unazuki said with a shrug. "He's probably playing hooky with his girlfriend."

"That makes me even madder," Makoto said, as she gestured angrily with her hands. "How come he's allowed to skip work to enjoy the perks of a relationship and meanwhile I'm the responsible adult that hasn't had a decent date in what seems to be ages?"

"I'm not saying that's fair, nor that he's allowed to do it. But right now there's nothing you can do about it, so relax," Unazuki replied calmly. "Forget about him and carry on with business. When he turns up tomorrow with some lame excuse, give him a great telling off that will make his ears bleed and I'm sure he'll think twice the next time he decides to pull something like this."

"That's true," Makoto frowned as she considered her words and her anger seemed to subside a little. "You're right, as usual. Thanks." She then smiled a little, and turned to actually look at her friend for the first time. As she looked at her, it was obvious she wanted to tell her something. "What's going on?"

Unazuki seemed about to burst with whatever it was she had to say. In another moment, she blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"

"What? Really?" Makoto turned round eyes to her and when she received a nod in assent, she jumped up and hugged Unazuki. "Congratulations! Wow, this is wonderful!"

"It really is," Unazuki said as she smiled the biggest smile ever. "I mean, it's so unexpected. I'm not even properly married yet!"

"Please! Your wedding is only a short month away. And you've been engaged for ages," Makoto shook her head as she still smiled.

"That's true. And Ryoji and I would want to start a family right away. So this really is wonderful news," Unazuki said as she thought it over.

"I'm so happy for you," Makoto couldn't stop smiling at her. "Imagine that, soon you'll have a tiny baby in your arms. Wait, is that why you were feeling off for the last couple of weeks?"

"I think so," the redhead nodded. "And that's how I found out, I took some blood to do some exams at the doctor's office yesterday, and I just found out this morning when I came in to see the results."

"Well, that really is the best news of the day. I'm so happy for you! And let me say once more, congratulations," Makoto said tenderly as she pulled her in to another hug. "If there's anything you need, let me know."

"Thank you, Mako-chan," Unazuki said with tears of happiness shining in her eyes.

Makoto soon went back to work in a much better mood. Sometimes it was so nice to be reminded of life's little happy surprises, and with the sudden worry of a new threat looming over their heads it seemed especially important to be confronted with what they fought to preserve every single time they risked their lives. She smiled as she watched Unazuki and silently renewed her vow to save this Earth.

* * *

As a second-year surgical resident, Ami would work on rotations at the hospital. Every few days she'd switch to the service of an attending at another department so she'd have a well-rounded experience and later on be able to decide which specialty she would choose. Today, she was working under Doctor Yukishiro Takehiko in the neurological department.

Ami enjoyed working with neurology. It gave her an opportunity to study the mysteries of the human brain and all of the unknown that still surrounded it. For as much as medicine had advanced over the ages, it seemed to still be rather in the dark regarding the ways the brain worked. She loved how stimulating it was to puzzle over a new case and all the facts it brought to light.

And as it happened, the first patient they received seemed like a complete mystery. The man, a Mr. Kohatsu Tadashi, had been brought over by ambulance in a state of deep sleep. His wife Saeko informed them that he'd been asleep for a whole day now and nothing she did would wake him up.

After a preliminary check-up, they withdrew a sample of his blood for some exams and took him to do a head CT. As they waited for the results, Ami commented, "This is very unusual."

"Yes," Doctor Yukishiro replied. He was a tall, powerfully built man, quite handsome and young with shrewd grey eyes and rather long fair hair, yet he was always so serious and taciturn that it was hard to get to know him. For some reason, Ami's first impression of him reminded her of a bodyguard rather than a doctor. "Perhaps we'll learn he only took an inordinate amount of sleeping tablets. But I don't think that's the case."

"No," Ami agreed. "And there's something else." She hesitated for a moment before beginning her tale. She then told him of her mother's patient that she'd heard of this very day and pointed out the similarities between both cases.

"Hmm, yes, you're right, Mizuno-san." He said pensively. "My supervisor told me of that patient this morning. We should check his serotonin and melatonin levels."

They spent the rest of the afternoon analyzing this case. The tests returned normal, except for the high melatonin levels, and his brain activity seemed in perfect function, consistent only with patterns of RAM sleep. They tried administering stimulants and the results were similar with her mother's case: The stimulant seemed do vanish as soon as they injected it into his bloodstream.

"Could this be the work of a virus or bacteria?" Ami posed the question as they once more reviewed the patient's history.

"Let's check it out," Doctor Yukishiro suggested. They did a spinal tap and the liquid turned out clear, which ruled out infection by bacteria. They did more tests, but they all came back negative. There simply didn't seem to be a source for this problem.

"It's almost like magic," Yukishiro murmured mostly to himself.

The moment she heard him, Ami's head snapped up. Magic? Could it be? Could this have something to do with Rei's dream and a new threat to their world? Surely, there were still only two cases; she would be paranoid to jump to such conclusions. Yet something about that thought made her blood run cold. If this were the work of a new enemy, it was unlike anything they'd fought before.

* * *

In the dead of night, Hypnos and Thanatos once more shimmered into this plane of existence in the middle of the deserted park in Tokyo. They looked at their surroundings and seemed to analyse something only they could see.

"Our plan progresses smoothly," the male figure of Hypnos commented.

"Yes," Thanatos agreed, her face still hidden by the dark hood. "Let's keep it up."

Hypnos only nodded in reply and bent his head in concentration as he once more reached into his leather pouch. His hand took on a bluish glow and this time he retrieved a bigger amount of the silvery, shimmering powder. As he chanted and prayed, an invisible breeze scattered the fine particles all over, this time seeming to reach farther away than the limits of the city, spreading his influence all over Japan and then to places beyond the seas, coming into contact with other continents.

As he finished with his task, Thanatos started murmuring something in the same ancient language. She spread her arms wide open, and from her suddenly an invisible wave was dispatched, sailing over land and water and reaching as far away as Hypnos's spell.

When they were done, both figures simply turned to one another, and in common agreement they once more shimmered away, as if they hadn't been there in the first place.

* * *

At the Juuban General Hospital, the night nurse looked up as the monitor in one patient's room started beeping. She ran up, but as she crossed the threshold all she could see in the monitor was the flat line indicating the lack of a heartbeat.

"I need a crash cart," she called out and pushed the button above the bed that would call a code blue. An emergency team soon walked in and started to perform CPR. They pumped the patient's chest, injected stimulating drugs intravenously and used a defibrillator. After some minutes, however, it became apparent that their efforts were useless. The monitor continued to display the flat line.

"What happened?" Ami panted as she ran into the room. She'd been taking a nap in an on-call room, for when she had to do a 24 hour shift it was important to get sleep when she could, and everything had been quiet before she'd retired.

"He just flatlined," the nurse who'd first caught the emergency replied. "I came in as his monitor started beeping but then there was no heartbeat."

"We shocked him and gave him drugs, but his heart didn't respond," the intern Sasaki Chiemi said quietly. "I'm sorry, Mizuno-san."

"It's okay, you did everything right," Ami said after a moment. As she told her intern to call time of death she couldn't take her eyes off the patient's face. It was that sleeping man, Mr. Kohatsu, which she'd worked on that afternoon.


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon, its characters and universe were created by Naoko Takeuchi. I'm merely a fan of the series, writing stories as an attempt to maintain sanity while studying. I expect no profit from this. Except for the sanity, of course.

**Starlight Destiny**

_Chapter Three_

Quite suddenly, Rei sat up in bed wide awake. Her heart was racing and she was gasping for breath. She looked a bit disoriented around her bedroom, but she couldn't find the reason why she'd been roused from sleep in such an abrupt manner. She looked at her alarm clock and it indicated it was a little over 2 a.m.

In a few moments, she calmed down and as her pulse slowed down she seemed to remember her dream. She'd once more been alone in a deserted street, only this time it'd been night. She felt the same horrible chill run down her spine at the silence and stillness of the scenery, and she thought she saw a figure—no, two figures—standing at a distance from her. They were cloaked in darkness, and she could feel immense power emanating from them.

She'd been about to move to investigate when a powerful wave pulsed from one of the figures. She was suddenly swept in a horrible feeling of despair, and that had jolted her awake. She'd been so terrified that for a moment that was all she could remember.

Rei pulled out her dream journal from the nightstand and turned on a lamp. With shaky hands she wrote down a few lines depicting her dream in as much detail as she could. After she was done, she drank a glass of water and lay back in her bed. She then stared up at the dark ceiling and tried to go back to sleep, but she had a feeling she was fighting a losing battle.

Elsewhere, Hotaru also fluttered her eyes open at the same time Rei had bolted up awake. Unlike the Shinto priestess, she was perfectly calm as she sat up in bed and regarded her surroundings. She hadn't been dreaming, but she felt a powerful wave sweep over her and rouse her from sleep. It was a feeling achingly familiar to her. It almost felt like the mysterious abilities Sailor Saturn harnessed, only so many times more powerful.

The thought didn't ease her mind, and it was with a somewhat heavy heart that Hotaru settled back on her bed. Yet for the moment sleep was the farthest thing from her mind.

* * *

With the autopsy concluded, Ami sat down at a nurse's station to read the pathologist's report. They'd put a rush on it as it had all happened under such mysterious circumstances. Yet nothing abnormal was detected in the autopsy. Cause of death had been listed as cardiopulmonary arrest, but that was just another way of saying they had no idea what had happened. The patient's heart had stopped which stopped the flow of blood and deprived his cells of oxygen, causing his organs to shut down. But what had caused his heart to stop? That remained unanswered.

She puzzled over the matter in her head, going over every possible scenario. She was so engrossed in her inner musings that it took her some time to realize someone was talking to her. With a start, she looked up into the blue eyes of Mamoru, who was leaning over the counter in front of her.

"Ami-chan?" He repeated, as he frowned worriedly at her.

"Oh Mamoru-san, I'm sorry," she gasped. "I didn't see you here."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just have a lot on my mind," she said. "I was reading the pathology report on that patient who died last night."

"Oh yeah, Yukishiro-san told me what happened. That was a very weird case, huh?" Mamoru commented. "Did the autopsy give you any clues?"

"Not really," Ami said as she frowned once more. "It's still all just a big mystery. We still don't know what killed him or what got him in such a state of sleep in the first place. We don't even know if the two events are connected, as we have another patient in a similar state of deep sleep, yet she rests well in a room upstairs. Of course, now I'm worried that little girl will drop dead at any second now."

She stopped abruptly when she realized she was starting to ramble. She flushed a little as Mamoru looked intently at her. "Didn't your shift end some hours ago?" He asked her after a moment.

"Yes," she sighed. "But I couldn't go home before the autopsy finished and I could get a look at the pathology report."

"All right," Mamoru nodded. "Now that that's done, we should go."

"We?" Ami blinked up at him.

"Yes, of course. Did you forget about the dinner party tonight? Usako said she'd spend the afternoon in the kitchen for you all," he said with a merry twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh!" Ami exclaimed. "Of course! No, I didn't forget. I was just momentarily... distracted. Forgive me. I'll gather my things and we can go. Or you can go ahead of me."

"That's okay, I'll wait," Mamoru assured her with a smile.

When they got to the Chiba residence, some of their friends had already arrived. Luna and Artemis sat on the couch with Haruka, Michiru and Makoto who were already there enjoying some wine while Usagi hurried up to finish dinner. She'd insisted on cooking it all herself.

"I made my special curry," Usagi smiled broadly at them as she disappeared momentarily into the kitchen.

"Don't worry, Usagi's curry is foolproof," Makoto leaned conspiratorially and whispered to Haruka and Michiru. "She's been making it since Junior High, and it's actually quite delicious."

The others laughed lightly. Their Princess wasn't always a marvel at the kitchen, and she'd made some legendarily bad meals over the years (and poor Mamoru had always been subjected to those), but there were some dishes she'd perfected in her own way and she'd treat them to her friends every now and then. By common agreement among her friends, her curry was deemed the best one.

Just then, the front door opened and in walked Hotaru and Usa.

"Oh my God, Chibi-Usa?!" Makoto exclaimed as she got up from the couch and the other girls had similar reactions.

"What are you doing here?" Ami questioned with surprise.

"I came for a visit," the grinning teenager answered.

They all gathered around Usa, giving her hugs and asking many questions. She answered them all patiently (no, everything was all right in the future; she was now fifteen years old; she was finally Sailor Moon) and enjoyed the warmth of their company.

"So that's why koneko-chan invited us all to dinner," Haruka commented with a smile.

"Yes, she wanted to surprise you all," Usa said. "I only went out to see Hotaru yesterday. We thought it would be a fun surprise."

"It really is," Makoto said as she put a hand on her shoulder. For some reason, her presence seemed to uplift everyone's spirits.

The doorbell rang and Mamoru answered it, bringing Rei and Minako in with him. Both women had looked rather tired, but as they saw Usa their faces broke into huge smiles. As they hugged her and once more asked many questions, Usagi called out that dinner was ready.

They all sat down and had a lovely meal, filled with much laughter and warmth over this long overdue reunion. For a few moments, this was just about friends getting together for dinner and having fun. But as their stomachs filled and their plates emptied, the mood was increasingly getting quieter and more serious.

They all noticed the absence of Setsuna, even if no one had voiced it. Usagi had called and left a message inviting her to dinner, of course. But the elusive Time Guardian hadn't come.

"Does anyone have any news?" Luna asked quietly when they'd reached a lull in the conversation. They all seemed to glance at one another before Rei sighed heavily.

"I had another dream," the Shinto priestess said. She proceeded to tell them what had happened in as much detail as she could, and they all listened intently.

"What time was this?" Hotaru asked when she was done.

"A little after 2 a.m. Why?" Rei frowned at the question.

"I also woke up at about the same time," Hotaru said, and she told them all what she'd experienced. The mood became decidedly heavier in the Chiba's dining room.

"Something odd also happened last night," Ami said. "I don't know if there's any connection with what you both told, but I had a patient come in at the hospital yesterday. He was deep asleep, and we didn't know why and we couldn't wake him up. And it was the middle of the night when he simply dropped dead. My intern called time of death at 2:07."

"Oh my God," Makoto suddenly gasped. As all eyes turned to her, she explained, "One of my assistants hadn't come to work for the last two days. I was just about to go after him and see what was up, when his girlfriend called me and said he'd died. And before dying he'd been asleep for a really long while, and she couldn't wake him up."

"Two people make a coincidence," Haruka said cautiously.

"What about three?" Minako asked. "One of the producers for 'Cherry Blossom Storm' turned up dead this morning, and apparently he'd also been in this deep sleep state you're talking about."

"Turn on the TV," Artemis said suddenly. Mamoru located the remote control and turned the television on at a news channel. Just then a reporter was speaking of a mysterious new disease that put people in a coma-like sleep, with some cases resulting in death. Several cases had already been identified across the nation and there seemed to be reports of cases overseas, and it was generating a mild panic.

"Well, it seems it's no coincidence, after all," Mamoru murmured.

"Could this be a new epidemic? A virus or bacteria or some parasite?" Michiru questioned, mostly directing this at the doctors among them.

"All the tests came back negative," Ami shook her head. "It's not bacteria, and it doesn't seem to be virus or parasite either."

"So it could be something more up our alley," Rei murmured quietly.

"Like what?" Haruka said rather doubtfully. "A magical disease?"

"Not necessarily a disease, but something of magical nature might be causing it all," Luna replied. "You have to admit that the timing is rather interesting, right? Rei starts having dreams of approaching danger right before there's this sudden outbreak."

"Well, if it's magical then we can fix it," Usagi said as she suddenly got up from her chair.

"Usako?" Mamoru turned to her with a confused expression.

"Usagi? What are you doing?" Usa asked as her future mother walked towards the door.

"If this is a magical disease, we can fix it," Usagi repeated herself as she looked for her coat.

"Wait, you can't seriously be thinking of doing what I think you're thinking," Minako said as she went after her friend.

"Yep, she's thinking it," Makoto said as she shook her head exasperatedly, also standing up and walking up to them.

"What? What is she thinking?" Usa said with some panic in her voice.

"She wants to use the Silver Crystal to cure everybody," Rei said through greeted teeth.

Suddenly there were several shouts of objection and reprimands. Usagi listened to them all for a moment, her hands tightening into shaking fists, and she then looked up at them all with tears swimming in her eyes, which stopped all of their words in their throats.

"How can I let people suffer through this when I know I can fix it?" She said pleadingly.

"At what cost?" Rei nearly screamed back at her. "Do you know how much it will demand of you to save everyone? It would most certainly mean your life!"

"And Usagi-chan, we don't even know for certain if it's something magical that is causing this," Ami pointed out.

"But I have to try," Usagi said in the same pleading tone. "I have the power to cure it, to fix things. Don't you think it's worth a shot?"

"Not if it means your life," Haruka replied rather harshly.

"Haruka and Rei are right," Makoto said soothingly. "We all want a solution here, but this isn't it."

Usagi opened her mouth to object, but she closed it again. She knew they would just keep pointing out more reasons why she shouldn't do it. She didn't want to listen to them. She ached every time she thought of people suffering needlessly. But she also couldn't ignore the wisdom in what they said.

"What if we did a test run?" Mamoru suggested, and Usagi looked up in surprise at her husband.

"What do you mean?" It was Hotaru who asked the question.

"Well, Ami mentioned there's a patient like that at the hospital. What if we went there and Usako tried to cure her with the Silver Crystal? That way we'd know for sure if it's something natural or not that is causing it," he elaborated as he gave a smile to his wife.

"Mamo-chan!" She exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around him in a fierce hug. She knew he'd understand her.

"That's certainly an idea," Michiru said rather noncommittally.

"Oh please?" Usagi turned pleadingly to her friends and protectors. "Please? We should at least try it. If it doesn't work, I'll forget about it, I swear!"

The girls exchanged glances. After a moment, it seemed they would acquiesce. After all, it was hard to argue with Mamoru's logic and it would be hard to convince Usagi not to do it anyway.

"All right," Minako nodded, speaking on behalf of them all. Usagi squealed with delight and threw her arms around her then. Minako patted her head and gave her a half smile, and the others only smiled at seeing that.

They decided to pay a visit to the hospital right then. Luckily, two of them were doctors who worked there so they'd be able to get inside even if it was rather late. On the drive there, Haruka and Michiru exchanged a worried glance.

"What will we do if it turns out she is capable of curing the girl?" Michiru asked the question, but Haruka only tightened her jaw and gripped the steering wheel until her hands turned white.

Sometime later, they were at the hospital. They mostly opted to wait out in the parking lot, as their presences were sure to attract some attention, especially in the case of Minako, Rei, Haruka and Michiru. Usagi used the disguise pen to pretend to be a visiting doctor and went in with Ami and Mamoru to the little girl's room. With the drapes shut, Usagi had transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon and she held the Moon Tier while Ami and Mamoru watched. Quietly, she whispered, "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss."

Pink energy emanated from the Moon Tier and bathed the little girl lying in the hospital bed. Her body seemed to absorb the energy as it touched her and she glowed a faint pink. As Eternal Sailor Moon put the Moon Tier away, they watched anxiously. Mamoru and Ami moved in to examine her, checking her vital signs and the monitor beeping rhythmically.

For a moment, it seemed nothing would happen. Then the girl groaned softly as her forehead furrowed in discomfort. After a moment, she fluttered her eyes open and looked at the doctors examining her.

"Mama? What happened? Where am I?" She asked hoarsely, still greatly disoriented.

They were all speechless for a moment. But years of practice had them all acting quickly the next second. Ami and Mamoru continued to examine her and keep her focus on them and Ami answered gently the girl's questions while Usagi quietly de-transformed and left the room to join the others who were waiting.

Some minutes later, they all gathered in the hospital's parking lot. Usagi turned with anxious eyes to her husband. "Well?"

"You did it," he said with a smile as he and Ami approached the large group. "She's well and awake. Doctor Yukishiro came in and is making her take all sorts of exams, but from our preliminary examination it seems she's all right."

"Oh thank goodness," Usagi sighed with relief.

"So it seems this is some sort of magical affliction after all," Artemis said from his perch on Minako's shoulder.

"And this must be the work of a new enemy," Luna added.

"Yeah, but what is their angle?" Minako asked with a frown. "What do they achieve by putting people asleep? It's not like they're gathering energy like Beryl's minions did way back then."

"And why were only a few people killed while others survived?" Rei questioned.

"Could it be a matter of time?" Hotaru asked. "People who are asleep the longest are the first to die?"

"I don't think so," Ami shook her head. "The man who died last night apparently got into the sleep-coma after the little girl."

"We need to investigate this further," Haruka said. "I'm especially worried because only last week Michiru and I checked our castles in Miranda and Triton and the security system didn't indicate any breach into our Solar System."

"So if it isn't something that came from outer space, it's an enemy from here?" Makoto asked with a frown.

"Or it's an enemy that has other means to reach the Earth," Michiru replied. "From another dimension, for instance."

"Or another timeline," Usa nodded in agreement. "When the Black Moon invaded the twentieth century, there wouldn't have been an alert to the system, because they came from the future."

"Oh that's just great," Minako said tiredly. "Where is Setsuna when we need her?"

"Her absence also makes me wonder," Michiru mused quietly. "When was the last time any of us saw her?"

"Well, I did when got I here two days ago," Usa said with a shrug. "But she actually never left the Gates of Time with me, she just directed me where to go."

"That is also curious," Luna said. "Why did you come to this time specifically? I thought you would have picked another time, like when Usagi and Mamoru got married."

"I didn't pick the time, Puu did," Usa replied.

The others all exchanged glances at that. "Oh yeah, something is definitely up," Haruka murmured, and received several nods in agreement.

"Guys," Usagi said rather timidly. "I don't mean to distract you from all this, but I'd like to try healing other people."

"Usagi," Rei said exasperatedly. "We already told you, it's too dangerous to try to heal everyone."

"But what if I didn't try healing everyone at once?" She said insistently.

"What do you want to do? Go to all the hospitals and heal each person, one at a time?" Rei retorted as she crossed her arms.

"Well, not that. I realize trying to heal everyone around the world at once could be taxing. But what if I tried healing just the people in Tokyo? Or even just the ones in Minato, to see how it goes? That way I can get a grasp of how much energy I'll need to heal everyone and we can come up with a plan," Usagi explained her thoughts then.

"Wouldn't it be easier if we figured out where this enemy is and we kicked its ass?" Makoto proposed with a matter-of-fact attitude. Haruka in particular seemed to approve of that.

"Ultimately, that is the goal here," Luna nodded. "But even if we do, we have no way to know if defeating this enemy will undo the effects on the people who are already afflicted."

"And it might take too long. What if there's another wave like the one Hotaru felt and more people die?" Usagi continued, and for as much as they didn't like her doing it, her Senshi knew she wouldn't back down until she did what she had to do.

"Ok, fine," Rei said grudgingly. "But if you're doing it, we're helping you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Usagi said, taking Rei's hand and smiling at her and the others.

Sometime later, nine Sailor Senshi, two cats and one Tuxedo Kamen gathered around the grounds of Hikawa Shrine. Eternal Sailor Moon stood with Tuxedo Kamen in the middle of a circle formed by the other soldiers while Luna and Artemis sat on the steps to the Shrine and watched them.

Eternal Sailor Moon closed her eyes, concentrating on summoning forth the Silver Crystal. The flowing gem shimmered out of her chest, and as it occurred her Eternal Sailor Moon garment faded away and she stood as Princess Serenity. Tuxedo Kamen also changed to the form of Prince Endymion with his dark armour in response, as he also summoned his Golden Crystal. At the same time, the Senshi closed their eyes and one by one the jewels on their tiaras started glowing in tandem with the Silver and Golden Crystals.

Princess Serenity concentrated on the task at hand. She could feel the power concentrating on her hands within the Silver Crystal, her own power as well as the ones from her lover and her friends. It was warm and it made her smile. She imagined all the people who were lying in endless sleep scattered over the city.

Please, Silver Crystal, she asked mentally. Please help me heal people from this curse.

The gathered energy pulse once, twice, three times. And then it came out as a powerful wave of pink-tinted silvery energy. It travelled fast and quietly, passing over streets and going into buildings and seeking out those who were suffering this dreamless, endless sleep. Princess Serenity gasped as she felt the energy touch each person and do what she'd asked.

When the wave dispersed itself at the city limits, she turned back to Eternal Sailor Moon and the Silver Crystal went back into her body. Her knees buckled slightly, but Tuxedo Kamen was there to catch her. "Usako?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Eternal Sailor Moon replied as the others gathered around them and she smiled. "I did it! I could feel it; they'll all be okay now."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sailor Mars asked with a frown, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'm sure," she nodded, still smiling. "I got everyone in the city."

"Still, that seemed to demand a lot from you, Usagi," Luna remarked from the ground as she and Artemis approached them.

"That's because she almost didn't take anything from us," Sailor Moon said with a sideways glare at Eternal Sailor Moon.

"I didn't seem to need to take much from you," Eternal Sailor Moon replied with a pout. "I was okay. And that means if I could use more of your energies, I'd be able to reach farther and cure many more people."

"That's all right, but I think we're done for tonight," Tuxedo Kamen said tenderly but with a tone of finality. Somehow his wife knew not to argue, and she wordlessly de-transformed to Usagi. The others saw this and followed her lead, turning back to their civilian forms.

They all basked in the warmth of this small victory for a few moments before retreating to their respective homes. It was quite certain that they'd have a big battle up ahead, but they knew they had power to help protect the people of their planet. They only hoped it would be enough.

* * *

In a park not far away from the Shrine, Hypnos and Thanatos once more shimmered into this plane of existence. The two figures surveyed their surroundings and analyzed things only privy to their eyes and senses.

"It seems we have someone running interference," Thanatos said with a smile half covered in shadow.

"Indeed," Hypnos nodded in agreement. "But wasn't that exactly what we were hoping for?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid you'll be the one to deal with them," his companion answered quietly. "They are not beings like you and I, but they are descendents of god-like creatures. As such, I'll have difficulty... reaching them."

"There seems to be one particularly attuned to you," Hypnos replied, cocking his head slightly as if he heard something.

"Yes," Thanatos said curtly. "She has immense power, and it will need to be neutralized."

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Hypnos said with a dangerous smile.


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** Sailor Moon, its characters and universe were created by Naoko Takeuchi. I'm merely a fan of the series, writing stories as an attempt to maintain sanity while studying. I expect no profit from this. Except for the sanity, of course.

A.N.: Merry Christmas! I'm sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. November was a hectic mess for me and with the end of the year holidays I haven't had much free time lately as well. I hope this makes up for it. ;)

* * *

**Starlight Destiny**

_Chapter Four_

Early morning Artemis was watching television at the apartment penthouse he lived in with Minako. The pop idol was currently wrapped in a towel rushing from the bathroom of her suite into the walk-in closet and making quite a racket. Some noises made Artemis wince, but for the most part he tuned her out and listened to the news anchor of the 6 a.m. news.

"Several patients who'd previously been diagnosed with the newly discovered sleep disease have miraculously recovered overnight," the serious man announced. "Our reporter Konno Fuyuka has more information at the Juuban General Hospital in Minato. Konno-san?"

"Good morning, Minamoto-san," the pretty reporter smiled pleasantly at the camera, and then became serious in a moment. "It was late last night when the first case of a miraculous recovery took place at Juuban General Hospital. I'm here with Doctor Yukishiro Takehiko, the primary physician who handled it. Doctor, what is your opinion on the case?"

The camera panned out to reveal the man standing next to her. He was quite handsome and tall, with a grave face, cool grey eyes and hair so fair that it was almost white and that came down to his shoulders—not exactly the image you'd expect of a doctor.

"Minako, come here!" Artemis called out to her, and received some cursed words in response. Feeling the familiar cold of a sweat drop on the back of his head, he ignored it and called out to her again. This time, she came out of the bedroom half-dressed, as she was wearing a pair of jeans but only a lacy bra covered her upper half.

"What? Can't you see I'm running late?" She said, not bothering to conceal her obvious bad mood or her state of undress. After all, it was Artemis, and that cat knew more about her than probably anyone else. But when she turned to look at the television screen, she suddenly became very interested. "Ooh now that's a sight for blurred eyes! Who's the hunk?" Of course, she wasn't interested for the right reasons and hadn't actually said the saying correctly, but that was Minako.

Artemis glared at her askance. "He's the doctor that took care of the little girl that Eternal Sailor Moon first healed last night," he replied.

"You mean that's Ami's boss?" Minako turned incredulous eyes to the cat as she pointed at the screen with an index finger. "That little minx! Why has she been hiding that guy from us all this time? And by 'us' I mean 'me', obviously."

"Apparently you don't know the meaning of 'minx', because that would be about the last word I'd use to describe Ami," Artemis argued, even though he had a bad feeling about this and really should know better than to indulge Minako in such matters.

"That's because you don't know her like I do," Minako said with a provocative smile, which made Artemis blush under his white fur, and she laughed. "Relax, I'm kidding!"

"Anyway," Artemis drawled out the word pointedly. "We should start to investigate this matter more thoroughly. Go to the hospital, perhaps map out where people first started getting sick so we can try to find a pattern and do some good old-fashioned digging around."

"I wish I could, I really do," Minako said with a sigh. "But the life of a pop idol doesn't lend itself to such matters. It was so much easier to dig around when I was in school."

"That's because you never really cared about school," Artemis pointed out.

"True," she acquiesced readily enough. "But things are different now. I can't just go out all night and do whatever I want. I have a ridiculously tight schedule and I need to be up and running for it all."

That was true. In addition to shooting the series she currently starred in, "Cherry Blossom Storm", Minako was also preparing for the summer concert tour she'd start even before the series finished filming, and she was also doing some last minute song-writing and recording for her upcoming new album in the fall.

Artemis noticed how she suddenly looked crestfallen. "What's the matter?"

"I shouldn't be doing this," she shook her head despondently. "What am I doing? I'm the Leader of the Senshi. My number one priority should be about this newest threat, not worrying that I'm late for rehearsal and that I need to find some time to write songs with Rei."

"Hey," Artemis said softly. "You've been doing all that and protecting the world from threats for the past eight years. You don't have to put your life on hold just because there's a new enemy."

"Sometimes I feel I should," Minako admitted quietly in a rare moment of such raw honesty, her blue eyes distant as she looked out of the window in the living room.

"Don't worry about it. Luna and I will figure out the investigating bit until you can all find some time. And you know what Usagi would say about this, right?"

She smiled at hearing that, still looking out the window. "Yeah. My dreams are important."

"That's right," he nodded back at her. "And you're living your dream, just like all the others. And that's even more reason to fight to protect all of this."

Minako nodded slowly to herself and then she heaved a big sigh, smiling back at her friend and mentor. The next moment, she was back to being a bubble of exploding energy as she looked at the time.

"Shit! Damn it, Artemis! I'm so late!" She cursed at him and ran back into the bedroom to finish getting ready.

Artemis only shook his head to himself and turned back to the television as he murmured, "I really don't get enough recognition for all the work I do."

* * *

After Dr. Yukishiro had given the interview, he and Ami went promptly back to work. The little girl had been discharged that morning, but in the afternoon they received a transfer patient from a hospital in the neighbouring city of Saitama who presented the symptoms of the mysterious sleep disease. After all, Eternal Sailor Moon's energy had only reached so far as the cities in the Tokyo Metropolitan prefecture area.

They did all the same tests and evaluations, and as with the other cases they couldn't find the source or a way to stop what was happening. But now that Ami knew that this wasn't a regular disease she had other means to investigate.

She snuck away in a quiet moment in the late afternoon, almost near the time her shift ended. She'd already filled all the charts and done her rounds and checked on her patients, so there was nothing left to do and she still had a few minutes. So she went into the new patient's room, shut the blinds at the door and windows and quietly transformed into Sailor Mercury.

Using her Mercury mini-computer and her sensory goggles, she ran a scan of the lying figure. She could now analyze things in another dimension, looking for magical causes to this mysterious affliction. She spent some time analyzing all the collected data, quietly punching away at the keyboards and continually scanning the patient. When it seemed the scan was done, the computer beeped quietly and she looked at the final report.

"What the...?" Her brow furrowed deeply as she read it. What in the world did this mean?

* * *

After a minor battle of wills, in which Rei valiantly tried to resist, using all of her defences of crossing her arms and rolling her eyes and acting exasperated, Usagi was eventually the winner, as she used the big guns of pouty lips and big sad blue eyes and laying it thick with phrases like, "I thought our friendship meant more to you!" Rei never really had a chance at that, so that was why she was wearing her best party dress as she accompanied Usagi at a hotel party on that Friday evening.

"Your husband owes me big for this," Rei said as they walked into the room and got their complimentary champagne glasses.

"It's not his fault, he was on call and had to go into surgery," Usagi said as she smiled at the room at large. "Besides, I thought you'd like coming with me. It's a free party and Mako-chan is the caterer!"

"How did you get roped into coming to this in the first place?" The brunette questioned in lieu of replying to that. She'd been really looking forward to a quiet evening at home and going early to bed, as she'd been so tired this week. But she didn't want to mention it to Usagi, as she didn't want her to worry about it in addition to everything else.

"The magazine that publishes my manga invited me," Usagi said with a shrug, and Rei rolled her eyes at that. Of course. "C'mon! Smile a little, try to enjoy yourself. We'll eat all the delicious food and then go to Michiru's art showing."

"Fine," Rei said, and in spite of herself in a short while she actually was enjoying herself.

Being with Usagi was always entertaining, and this was the grand inaugural party for this new hot hotel in town. All the right people had been invited, and they all seemed to recognize her for her modelling and singing career. Rei tried to act aloof, but inside she loved all the attention. She flourished under the compliments and admirations of others, and Usagi loved seeing her like that.

And then her spotlight was momentarily stolen when Minako made her entrance into the room, wearing an exquisite dress. The pop idol worked the room, all smiles and laughter and dazzling charm for a while, but eventually she found her way to her friends as they gathered around Makoto at the dessert table.

"Mako-chan, this all looks so great!" She enthused while giving her a hug.

"Hey, thank you for recommending me," Makoto replied with a big smile. "Yeah, the hotel owner's assistant told me you're the reason why I got this gig. After all, my name isn't that big in the catering business. They could've easily hired someone more famous."

"Aw, you weren't supposed to know," Minako pouted slightly in response. "Oh well. Of course I'd recommend you! There's no else better than you, and I'm not saying that because you're my friend."

"Thank you," Makoto blushed proudly at that.

"Ooh, and it seems like he's checking you out," Minako said as she giggled as if they were still schoolgirls. Makoto blushed further as Usagi and Rei asked who she was talking about, and Minako pointed out the handsome hotel owner. He stood a few feet away, and he'd every now and then sneak glances in their direction. He was rather young and foreign-looking, with sandy blonde hair that fell softly over his bright blue eyes.

"Is he that Miyamoto Jun? How do you know the hotel owner?" Rei asked, her eyes lingering with interest over said man.

"He's one of the sponsors for my upcoming summer concert tour, and I'm going to do a series of commercial ads for the hotel," Minako explained. "That's pretty much the reason why I managed to sneak away and come here tonight."

"How do you find the time to do all of that?" Makoto remarked somewhat amazed. "I have trouble filling everything I got to do in 24 hours, and it's no way near all the things you have to do."

"Honestly, I don't know," Minako shook her head. "I have people taking care of making it work, somehow. Sometimes it seems like I'm working round the clock. For instance, tonight I'll make a stop by Michiru's art thing, and then I'm still going back to the recording studio."

"What? Really?" Usagi was very surprised to hear that.

"Yeah, I need to finish this song," Minako nodded seriously.

They spent some time enjoying the party and mostly the food, but about half an hour later they left Makoto and the hotel and went on to Michiru's art showing. The aqua-haired artist welcomed them and thanked them for coming, but soon she left to entertain her admirers and potential buyers. Usagi, Rei and Minako located Haruka and Hotaru on one corner and joined them.

"Wow, this is really huge, huh?" Usagi said excitedly as she looked at the room full of people. "Michiru really is amazing!"

"She is," Haruka agreed with a quiet smile.

"I really like the theme," Minako remarked as she looked closely at a painting in front of them.

"Me too," Rei nodded. She could easily see where the inspiration had come from. They'd had many encounters with dark forces over the years, and yet they could always count on their shining light of hope.

"She really did a great job with the duality of light and darkness," Hotaru said.

They spent some time walking around the room and occasionally mingling with others. Michiru would stop by every now and then, but she was mostly occupied with other people. It wasn't long before Minako had to leave, parting from them with a somewhat bittersweet smile.

"Go do a great job!" Usagi pushed her with one of her million watt smiles, and the blonde pop idol beamed back at that. She could always count on Usagi to cheer her up.

Almost as soon as Minako had left, Ami and Usa joined them. Both of them had solemn looks on their faces and had smuggled in Luna and Artemis inside their bags.

"Hey, I was starting to wonder if you'd come at all," Rei said a little worriedly.

"I'm sorry, I was at Usagi's house," Ami said apologetically.

"My house?" Usagi blinked in confusion at that.

"I ran some scans of victims of this sleep disease with the Mercury computer and I wanted to run the results by Luna and Artemis," Ami explained quickly.

"Did you find anything?" Haruka asked.

"Yes, and you'll never believe it," Luna remarked peeking out from inside Ami's bag.

"Apparently sleep is causing people to fall asleep," Usa said.

"Huh? Come again?" Usagi questioned, thoroughly confused.

"At first I didn't understand either," Ami rushed to explain. "My computer simply listed 'sleep' as the cause of this mysterious affliction. But when I checked it further with Luna and Artemis, it seems my computer detected some sort of molecule that induces sleep and also keeps people from waking up."

"How does that work? Like melatonin?" Hotaru asked, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"No, but it actually increases levels of melatonin," Artemis said from inside Usa's bag. "It isn't of biological nature, so we're thinking... magical."

"Magical?" Usagi echoed. "What do you mean?"

"Like a magical molecule?" Rei added, interested at the prospect.

"Well, even magic has to work like other things, right?" Artemis grabbed their attention as he explained. "Like your Sailor fukus; they can regenerate themselves after a while if they suffer any damage. They're formed of special, magical matter."

"Or when we use our powers," Ami continued. "For instance, I can manipulate water. And what do I manipulate it with? It would be an equivalent of a magical molecule, one that affects water."

"Oh I get it," Hotaru said, and no one was surprised that she was the first to grasp the concept. "So you mean to say that whoever is causing this is someone who can affect sleep as if it were tangible, like a substance."

"Exactly," Ami nodded in response.

"But who do we know that can manipulate sleep like that?" Haruka posed the question.

"No one I can think of," Luna shook her head.

"And what about the people who died?" Usagi asked quietly.

"I'm still not sure," Ami replied. "I'll run more scans tomorrow, this time of the ones who perished."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" Rei asked. "Sometimes I'll get impressions. It might give us some clues."

"Of course," Ami nodded.

"I'd like to come, too," Hotaru piped up. She had a bit of a hunch and she wanted to check it out.

The three of them made plans to meet the next morning and investigate this matter, and promised to report to the others anything they might find.

"Well, since it seems tomorrow will to be a very long day, I think I should get home now," Rei said and looked pointedly at Usagi.

"Oh all right, we should go," Usagi said with a small sigh, and the next moment smiled gratefully at her friend. "But thank you for coming with me."

Rei simply smiled back. She then left with Usagi. Usa and Hotaru decided to stay a bit longer and wandered off on their own, linking their arms and talking excitedly to one another. Haruka and Ami then went looking for Michiru and they found her in deep conversation with a young man who seemed to be one more of the many artistic types that had shown up. He had very delicate features, and rather long fair hair tied in a low ponytail and quiet green eyes.

"Haruka, Ami," Michiru said as they approached. "This is Izumi Kaoru."

"Nice to meet you," Haruka said quietly as she shook his hand even as she put an arm around Michiru's waist. She wasn't so much jealous as protective, and Michiru silently acknowledged it with a smile but let her be.

"It's a pleasure," Ami said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about your work." She then turned to explain to Haruka and Michiru, "Usagi has been raving about his books for weeks now. She says they're the best romance novels she's read in years. Too bad she just left. She would've loved to meet you."

"Thank you," the man said quietly, and moved in to shake her hand. When their hands touched, Ami felt something like a small jolt run up her arm. Startled, her eyes widened slightly and Kaoru noticed her reaction yet didn't seem surprised at that. His green eyes sparkled with something like amusement.

What had just happened?

It took her a few moments to realize the conversation had continued around her, and the next moment the novelist was excusing himself, leaving the three of them alone. Ami vaguely noticed that Haruka was updating Michiru on her discoveries and what they'd discussed with the others, but she was still looking at Izumi Kaoru's retreating form.

"Ami?" Haruka called out to her, and when she turned the two of them had very amused looks on their faces.

"Yes?" She said as she blushed slightly.

"Could I be one more addition to your group tomorrow morning?" Michiru asked.

"Tomorrow morning?" Ami repeated.

"You're investigating the victims who died, right?" Haruka said as her amused smile became more pronounced despite the seriousness of their topic of conversation.

"Oh! Yes, of course," Ami said, shaking her head slightly to herself. "It would be great if you'd come."

"I'll be there," Michiru replied with a nod. And then she smiled a decidedly sly smile at Ami as she commented, "That was an interesting young man. Quite attractive."

Normally, such a comment would annoy Haruka to no end, but she could see what Michiru was getting at and joined in the fun. "Really? Well, what do you think, Ami-chan?"

Ami tried to keep from blushing, but was fighting a losing battle. "Well! Hum—yes, I mean... I suppose." She said as she averted their eyes. "Anyway, it's getting late. It was a great showing, Michiru. Congratulations! I'll see you in the morning."

They said their goodbyes and Ami quickly made her exit before she could embarrass herself any further. With amused smiles, the couple turned to one another.

"So," Haruka raised an eyebrow. "You really thought he was attractive?"

"Well, you know I have a penchant for beautiful blondes with deep brooding blue eyes," Michiru answered with a mischievous smile.

"His eyes were green," Haruka retorted, eyebrow still raised.

"Really? I didn't notice it," Michiru said easily. "Now come. I need to speak to the manager." And she pulled Haruka along by the hand. The blonde simply entwined their fingers and smiled.

* * *

As the party at the hotel was coming to an end, Makoto gathered her staff and her things and was mostly done with cleaning up the space in the kitchen that she'd used. She felt rather tired, but very accomplished. It had been a great night, businesswise. And it'd been great that Usagi and the others had stopped by for some time.

She got back to the party room properly and surveyed it for one last time. It seemed most of the guests and the press had left already, only a few stragglers left behind enjoying the last of the drinks.

"My compliments to the chef," said a voice suddenly, and she startled a bit at it. She turned and saw it was a tall, rather handsome man. He had long brown hair and intelligent brown eyes.

"Thank you," Makoto said after a moment, smiling at him.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you," he said as he also smiled. "I'm Matsumoto Masato."

"Nice to meet you, Kino Makoto," she replied, bowing slightly. "Did you enjoy the party?"

"Yes, especially your food," he said with a quiet smile. "I told Jun he should hire you full time to work as head chef at the kitchen in the hotel, if he knows how to handle his money like he thinks he does."

"Actually, he did offer me the job," Makoto said with a somewhat embarrassed smile. "But I turned it down. I already have my own business."

The man looked intently at her for a moment. "Would you like to have a drink?" He then said.

Makoto stammered incoherently and blushed further for a moment. She was about the refuse. After all, she was technically still working and it would be very unprofessional. She was about to say so, but was unexpectedly interrupted.

"She would love to," Unazuki said to him with a smile, coming suddenly from inside the kitchen. She then turned to Makoto and whispered, "Don't even think of saying no. This guy is cute and interested and we're already done here. I'll oversee the rest of the work, so just go enjoy yourself." She winked and gave her a little push, as she went promptly back into the kitchen.

Makoto stood with her mouth hanging slightly open, looking back at the kitchen where Unazuki and one of the waitresses gestured at her to go for it. She turned back to Masato and put a hand on her forehead, "I'm so sorry for that. That's my business partner. She's just..."

As words failed her, Masato kept on smiling pleasantly. "Don't worry about it. Shall we?" He then extended his arm to her and pointed with his head towards the bar. Makoto looked at him for a moment and then thought, 'Eh, why not?'

One glass of kamizake later, Makoto had to admit she was having a lot of fun. She found out her companion was a lawyer and a good friend of the hotel owner. He was also a very good impersonator, and as his drink also loosened him up he regaled her with various funny stories of his group of friends. And she'd also told him a few stories of her own, mostly involving Usagi and Minako and their crazy antics.

"You know, I love your bakery," Masato said as Makoto finished one of the stories. "I recognized your business partner. I go there all the time, but I've never seen you there before."

"That's because I'm always in the back, working away in the kitchen," she said with a slow wink. Wow, alcohol really had loosened her up, she realized as she flirted unabashedly.

"So what is your favourite dish?" He asked with a smile.

"Well," she drawled out the word as she thought about it. "I really love cakes and sweets in general. But I have a weakness for cherry pies. Ooh and strawberry shortcakes!"

He was about to reply to that when suddenly his eyelids drooped and he slumped over the bar. Makoto blinked before this, very confused. What the hell? The guy fell asleep on her in the middle of a conversation? She hadn't thought she'd been that boring.

But as she looked around her, she noticed the bartender and some other patrons had also fallen asleep all of a sudden. Adrenaline kicked in and as the effects of alcohol cleared over her hazy mind, she bolted up from her seat and ran to the exit. The area of Roppongi was usually very lively, even into the late hours of the evening, or very early hours of a new day as was the case. But as she reached the street, she saw some people fallen on the sidewalk and at the intersection two cars suddenly collided; both drivers seemed to have fallen asleep as well.

Grabbing her Senshi communicator, she said into it, "Everyone! There's been an attack. I'm at the hotel and people all around are falling asleep! Luna, call for an ambulance to the street, there was a car crash!"

She looked around making sure no one was watching her. As she ducked into an alley, she summoned her powers and transformed into Sailor Jupiter. Then she took off at a run, keeping in communication with the others.

"Luna! Artemis! Where do I go?"

"Got it!" Artemis replied, as he analyzed the situation with his computer. "The energy's coming from the park."

"On my way!" As she impossibly jumped over buildings, Sailor Jupiter cut her way through the city towards the park. In a short while she'd reached her destination. She ran around, searching for the source of trouble. And then she located two figures, literally shrouded in darkness. Light seemed to bend at impossible angles and form a halo around them.

"Stop right there!" She called out and both turned to her with what seemed like amused expressions. "You're spreading your magic and making people all over fall into an endless sleep. I won't forgive you!"

The figure draped in a cloak seemed to give her a tiny smile, and then snapped her fingers. Suddenly, creatures emerged from the ground, as if they were made of the very shadows of the night. They had the form of beautiful, willowy women with dark hair contrasting with alabaster skin that peeked out from inside their long, dark cloaks. But their smiles were wicked and their nails were long and sharp as knives. They seemed to glide over the grass as they advanced quickly towards Jupiter.

Sailor Jupiter deftly dodged the first one, twisting around and pushing her elbow into its back. Then she kneeled down and thrust her fist up, catching a second one in the middle and tossing it over her shoulder. Summoning forth her element, she then caught a third creature in a blazing attack and display of electricity. As her foe fell and seemed to dissolve, she was momentarily distracted as one enemy sneaked up behind her back. Sharp nails reached out for her throat in an attack aimed to kill.

Jupiter was summoning up an attack, but before electricity could jump out of her hands the creature was struck by an energy ball and blasted away. She turned and welcomed her saviour, "Glad you could make it."

"Any time," Sailor Uranus nodded back, and then turned back to the battle. She and Sailor Neptune worked in synch as they faced their enemies, sending World Shaking after Deep Submerge at them.

More creatures were emerging from the shadows on the ground for each one they defeated. Jupiter knew she wasn't much of a strategist; that was usually left to Mercury and Venus. But she knew they had to reach the two figures that were surrounding themselves with these dark creatures, or they'd soon be easily outnumbered.

"Mars Fire Snake!" Suddenly a huge tower of fire in the form of a snake came forth and disintegrated a great portion of the creatures as Sailor Mars joined the fray. Sailor Mercury came running up after her, goggles and mini-computer at hand as she scanned the area and analyzed their opponents.

"Everyone!" Mercury called out to them. "These youma are literally made of shadows!"

"Got it!" Jupiter nodded back, and looked at Mars. Together, they summoned up their attacks: Fire Soul and Supreme Thunder collided on their path to the enemy, exploding in a huge sizzling fireball that lit up the night skies and melted away the small army of youma they faced.

As the fireball receded, they could see the two figures that commanded the youma had ensconced themselves inside a sphere made of darkness and remained unscathed. With the attack gone, they revealed themselves once more to the Senshi.

"Why are you attacking our people and our planet?" Mars demanded as she glared at the pair, fire dancing at her fingertips and ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Why do you assume we mean harm?" The man asked back in a quiet voice that somehow carried out in the wind so they all could hear him.

"People have been killed!" Jupiter roared back indignantly, her voice raging like thunder.

"All mortals must die," the female answered in the same quiet voice. "Their time just came sooner rather than later. If you should stand in our way that will also be your destiny."

As she said it, more shadow creatures emerged from the ground by the dozens. They spread out and targeted each Senshi, but before they could battle a wave of pink energy dissolved them away. They all turned to see Eternal Sailor Moon standing at the entrance of the park.

"Please," she said quietly as she smiled tentatively at the strangers. "Why are you engaging in violence? I'm sure we can come to an understanding if we communicate with each other."

"We have our mission and we won't be swayed from it," the female replied, and she suddenly moved faster than anyone could have predicted. She practically flew towards Eternal Sailor Moon, and as she twisted her arm an imposing glaive of gleaming black suddenly materialized in her hand.

The Senshi reacted to the attack, gathering their powers: electricity crackled in Jupiter's hands while Mercury and Neptune commanded their waters. Uranus summoned her Sword Talisman and ran to intercept the enemy even as Mars arched her flaming bow and let a fire arrow fly, but she instinctively knew they'd be too late. They watched as the weapon was aimed at Eternal Sailor Moon, who hadn't reacted fast enough and could only watch as she was attacked.

There was a clash of metal on metal, even as they heard a yell of "Silence Wall!" At the last second, Tuxedo Kamen swooped in and rebuffed the glaive away from Eternal Sailor Moon with his stick and Sailor Saturn stood to protect their princess with her own glaive, and with her power she threw up an energy shield over them to keep the enemy away. The strange woman simply deflected Mars' arrow and the other attacks that had been thrown at her with her glaive even as her eyes never left Saturn's form.

"Step away from the princess," Saturn said in a quiet but commanding voice, her eyes narrowed and focused on the enemy. The woman, in turn, seemed intrigued and rather amused as she smiled back at Saturn.

After a moment, the woman turned back to look at her companion. He gave a slight nod in her direction and after she replied in kind they both simply shimmered away. The Senshi remained alert and gathered around Eternal Sailor Moon, who was still safe under Saturn's shield and in the arms of Tuxedo Kamen.

"What happened?" Uranus demanded. "Mercury, where are they?"

"They're not here," Mercury replied after a moment as she scanned their surroundings with her visor and mini-computer. "They're gone."

"Are you sure?" Saturn questioned further. She didn't want to drop the shield until she knew it was safe.

"Yes, I'm sure." Mercury said curtly.

"I don't feel their auras any longer," Mars said in corroboration.

As the shield vanished, they all turned to Eternal Sailor Moon. "Are you okay?" Jupiter put a hand on her shoulder tenderly.

"Yes," Eternal Sailor Moon replied. "But who were they? What did they want?"

"Apparently, they're acting together to either put everyone asleep or kill them," Uranus said dryly. "As for why, they wouldn't say. Only that they had a mission."

"Yes, I heard that," Eternal Sailor Moon replied with sad eyes. She was about to say something else when there was a sudden cry coming from the park entrance closest to them. Some of them reacted protectively around their princess, but Mars simply put a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

"God damn it!" Sailor Venus suddenly joined their group. "I can't believe I missed it." Coming with her were Sailor Moon, Luna and Artemis.

"Is it over? Where's the enemy?" Sailor Moon questioned as she looked around, her pink tresses swishing around her.

"They left," Mercury said. "Where were you guys?"

"I was tending to the people who were in the car crash," Sailor Moon said.

"We wanted to make sure they were okay," Artemis added while Luna nodded along.

"I was in that stupid recording studio and I couldn't get away," Venus said exasperatedly. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"We're all okay," Eternal Sailor Moon said as she grasped one of Venus's hands. "Don't worry, everything turned out all right."

"Are you kidding me?" Mars retorted, slightly high-pitched. "There was a moment there I thought we'd lost you. If Tuxedo Kamen and Saturn hadn't been fast, we don't know what would have happened."

"But they were fast, and I'm okay," Eternal Sailor Moon repeated calmly with a sweet smile.

"I'll always be here to protect her," Tuxedo Kamen said gravely, and received a grateful smile from his wife.

"Yes, that's all right. But why did they leave suddenly?" Luna said as she frowned worriedly.

"Maybe they thought there were too many of us?" Jupiter suggested with a shrug. "Maybe they got scared of Saturn? You saw how that chick was staring at her."

"Maybe," Neptune nodded slowly. "But I don't know. This was a very weird attack. This enemy doesn't act like anything we've faced before."

"I don't like this either," Uranus said gravely. "I rather wish they'd just state their purpose and let us battle it out instead of this coming and going they're doing."

"Well, that woman seemed to have a special interest in Eternal Sailor Moon, so it would be best if we came up with some security measures," Mercury said reasonably.

"Oh guys, come on," Eternal Sailor Moon protested somewhat. "We all have our lives. You can't just drop your duties to watch over me."

"Protecting you is our highest duty," Mars said in a tone of finality as she put a hand on her shoulder, and the others all nodded in agreement.

"I'll take first watch," Saturn volunteered. "I'm sleeping over at Usagi and Mamoru's anyway this evening."

"Good," Artemis nodded approvingly. "Luna and I will head out to the Command Centre at the game centre and check out the monitoring system. Maybe we'll be able to find out where they're coming from."

"Let's all stay alert and have your communicators with you at all times," Luna added as the two cats turned to go.

The others exchanged some parting words and broke into smaller groups as they left for their homes and discussed this latest development. Usa went with her future parents and her best friend, yet not one of them noticed as the shadows of Usagi, Mamoru and Hotaru glowed a faint gold for a brief moment under the moonlight.

* * *

Safely hidden in another dimension, Hypnos and Thanatos watched them leave the park through an opening in the fabric that separates the different planes. This time Hypnos held in his hand a smaller pouch of gleaming gold, which was also the colour of the powder he dispersed. Carried away in an invisible breeze, the magical particles went after the shadows of their targets.

"How long?" Thanatos questioned.

"Soon," was his answer.


End file.
